Kennicott and McCarthy

Bethany, Matt and John came to Alaska for a family vacation to Kennicott and McCarthy in the National Park named Wrangell-St. Elias.

Did you know that Wrangell-St. Elias National park and reserve is the largest national park in the US?  It is also probably the least visited. It is the size of Switzerland and has more mountains and definitely more glaciers. It has 9 of the highest 16 peaks on the North American continent when combined with Canada’s Kluane National Park. There are 8 peaks over 16,000 ft. with Mt. Logan in Canada at 19,800 and Mt. Elias in the U.S. at 18,000 ft. It is an incredible wilderness of ice fields, glaciers, volcanoes, rivers and valleys mostly untouched except for a couple of human intrusions.

The main intrusion into this area occurred in 1900 when the richest copper ore that has ever been found was found near the Kennicott glacier.  The copper ore was up to 90 percent pure copper. Not all ore was that pure, the average was between 30-60 percent pure. The town of Kennecott was formed and the mine was operated from 1907 to 1938. It is an interesting place to stay and visit. They made about 100 million dollars in profit. Not bad for that day. 

The town of McCarthy was a bedroom community near the mine 4 miles down the road. The mine site was dry, no alcohol so guess what McCarthy had? If you guessed saloon and brothels, you are right. Also only the manager’s families could live together at Kennecott so some miners had their families in McCarthy.  

A railroad came all the way from Cordova to transport the copper out to a smelter in Tacoma, Washington. It was quite a feat just building the railroad since it had to go over several rivers and glaciers and was built in an area that was total wilderness.

So what did we do while at the park?   Matt, Bethany and John took a full day glacier hike on the Root Glacier, which included a dip in a glacier pool, lasting only seconds. It was a warm day but I think their guide and they were a bit on the crazy side. They also hiked to the Erie Mine which is built on a mountain and was part of the Kennecott mine.  Some challenging climbing needed to take place to ascend the nearly 2500 ft. gain on loose rock surface.  We’ll show you a picture of this mine located on a ledge overlooking the valley below.  A tramway was used by the miners.  Lorrie and I also went for a tour on the Root glacier with the use of crampons( spikes one adds to their shoes). Our 5 hour glacier tour was more sedate and we discovered glaciers are an interesting and ever changing geological phenomenon.  We also went flightseeing and will share some of our pictures of this vast and beautiful wilderness.  One day we took a long hike with watchful eyes for bears but as usual only saw scat.  One afternoon we enjoyed the town tour learning about the Kennecott era.

Alaska is truly a unique and beautiful place. We will be leaving in a couple of days full of memories of wonderful places and people. 

Juneau and Sitka

The Alaska State Museum in Juneau was a great way to spend a rainy morning. The Tlingit and Haidas are the 2 major Indian people in Southeast Alaska and it was interesting to compare their way of life with the northern groups.  The museum is a wealth of information about Alaska’s involvement in World War ll and the Russian-America days.

We took a tour of the Capitol building which is one of the few capitols in the U.S. that does not have a dome.

We visited the Mendenhall Glacier 3 times, partly for the beauty and partly for bear viewing.  The Mendenhall Glacier’s terminal moraine is at the Mendenhall Lake so there are icebergs floating in the lake. The 377 foot Nugget waterfall empties into the lake nearby providing spectacular views of waterfall, lake, icebergs, glacier and mountains.

The U.S. Forest Service visitor center at the glacier area has the most rangers we have ever seen in one area and we learned that is because of the bears.  An elevated bear viewing walkway provides opportunity to see black bears fishing if your timing is right.  We saw 2 moms, 3 cubs and a large number of spawning red salmon.

The Shrine of St. Therese of Lisieux is situated on Shrine Island accessed by a causeway for foot traffic only.  On the island is a chapel which was built in the late 1930‘s using beach stone from the island and there is a Stations of the Cross trail too. St. Therese is the Patron Saint of Alaska.

Did you know that Juneau has only 40-50 miles of main roads?

 It is a 5 hour ferry ride from Juneau to Sitka located on Baranof Island. Sitka has ~14 miles of main roadway.  It rains 60-70% of the time here producing a lush rainforest.  

When the Russians came to Baranof Island the Tlingit people fought them, winning the first time but when the Russians returned 2 years later the Tlingits lost the battle and retreated.  The Russians profited from hunting sea otters but when the sea otter was near extinction Russia lost it’s interest in AK and sold it to the U.S. with a transfer ceremony in Sitka in 1867.  Castle Hill is where the Russian flag was lowered and the American flag was raised and this hill has several plaques describing the events that occurred there.

This area is rich with history of the Russian American period. The Russian Bishop’s House, a part of the Sitka National Historical Park, is furnished in the Russian colonial era and well worth taking a tour through both floors.  Bishop Innocent studied the language and customs of the Tlingit people and promoted their education, the lower floor of his house was a school.  The Historical Park also includes a collection of 18 totem poles collected in 1901-1903, some originals and others are copies of originals. 

St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral located in the center of town continues to hold services several times weekly.  

Brown bears, linked genetically to polar bears, are on Baranof Island but we did not see any.  

Did you know that Alaska has the only state capital, Juneau, not accessible by road?(unless you live in Juneau and then you can drive to it)

Denali National park and Fairbanks

Denali, the second attempt for a sunny day

Sunshine predicted for the Denali area and the interior.  That means it is time to pack and head north.  Perhaps we will be among the lucky ones who see Denali from top to bottom (visitors have a 30-40% chance of seeing the 20,320 foot tall mountain). Upon arrival at Denali National Park we checked out the visitor’s center which has several good exhibits.  As we were returning to our cabin we noticed an airplane company and Paul wondered if an evening flight might be available since the mountain was in the sun.  Turned out they have a few seats remaining for the flight leaving shortly so we wolfed down a PB&J sandwich for dinner and headed for the plane.  As we were preparing to board the pilot asked if I wanted to ride in the co-pilot’s seat.  YES!   This was my birthday present and I loved it!  The flight was “magic” as they say in NZ with the mountain absolutely brilliant in the evening sky.  

The next day we took a 60+ mile ride into Denali National Park on a shuttle which is the only way one can enter the park, no cars allowed.  We saw 3 grizzly bear which are blonde in this part of AK, a caribou, a moose and her calf and several dall sheep on the mountains.  Denali was again in the sun and between the scenery and wildlife we had an exceptional 8 hour tour.

We wanted to see what the road to Fairbanks is like so we drove 2 hours from Denali to Fairbanks, Alaska’s 2nd largest city.  Good road and scenery and we saw a red fox on the way.  While in Fairbanks we took the Riverboat Discovery tour on the Chena river and stopped at the Old Chena Indian Village for about an hour of outdoor cultural education (this was my favorite part of this tour).

Head south from Fairbanks for Paxson. Stopped in North Pole, AK to visit the Santa Claus House.  Visited Rika’s Roadhouse along the way to learn more of the history of this area. The Denali hwy. is 134 miles long (120 of that is dirt).  We spent nearly 6 hours on this out of the way road because of the sensational scenery.  Views of lakes, the Alaskan range, glaciers, the Wrangell mountains with 12,000-16,000 ft. peaks,  rivers, eskers, kames and kettle lakes.  Just amazing!

Did you know that Alaska is the size of 8 Washingtons?

Flying Denali and Zipping Talkeetna

Talkeetna and Denali

In what seems to be becoming our usual fashion since Paul completed his contract, we woke up, searched for an area where sunshine was predicted and were off, this time to Talkeetna for a tour around Denali (Mt. McKinley) on the Talkeetna Air Taxi. Arrived in town in the sunshine but by our afternoon flight time the clouds were moving in which is not unusual for Denali.  We still took the flight which was amazing as we ducked in and out of the clouds for glimpses of the mountain and then landed on the Ruth glacier.  It was beautiful taking off from the glacier and following it through a canyon with 5,000 foot rock walls on both sides.  The rock formations of granite and sedementary rocks are stikingly beautiful on and around Denali.

While in Talkeetna Paul and I noticed a zipline company and after talking with the staff we decided that it sounded like fun so on another sunny day we returned to Talkeetna to give ziplining a go.  What a blast!  The longest line was 700 feet and sailed over a lake.  You can read about the course at    denaliziplinetours.com

We decided to meet the mayor of Talkeetna while in town.  Mayor Stubbs is a cat, yes, really, who was officially elected in a write-in campaign.  He has been mayor for 15 years. He had stepped out when Paul went to meet him because he was a bit upset over the interview he just completed (again, yes, really).  We saw that interview on TV in Anchorage the next week!  Do a search for “mayor stubbs the cat” to see his picture.

Along the road to Talkeetna is the Kahiltna Birchworks store where birch syrup is made.   It is one of 4 stores in Canada and AK where birch syrup is produced.  It has a unique flavor and is delicious on hotcakes.

Did you know that Anchorage has a population of just over 290,000 which is 44% of the entire state’s population?

Hatcher pass and Valdez

Raining in Anchorage but we spot sunny and high 60’s in Valdez so we are off.  The 1st part of the trip is on the Glenn Highway which travels between Anchorage and Glennallen. It’s a beautiful drive with the Chugach (pronounce Chew-gach) mountains to the south and the Talkeetna mountains to the north.  This highway follows the Matanuska river which has a braided design caused when enough glacier silt from the Matanuska glacier settles in one area and stops the flow of water causing the water to take another route thus producing several channels of water within the river banks and a braided appearance over time.  The river appears low and never full from bank to bank but there are several swift running waterways braiding within the banks. 

The 27-mile-long Matanuska Glacier is along this route and is one of the few you can access by car.  With a 4 mile wide terminus it is quite striking from the hwy.

Approaching Glennallen you get your 1st view of the Wrangell mountain range with Mt. Drum (12,010 ft.), Mt. Sanford (16, 237 ft.) and Mt. Wrangell (elev. 14,163 ft; the only active volcano in the Wrangell mountains) all in sight on a good day.

Vegetation varies markedly along the Glenn Hwy. from dense stands of white spruce, aspen and birch to stunted black spruce depending on the type of soil. 

On a side note, Hatcher Pass Road is a summer side trip off the Glenn Hwy.  Karen and Ray Doty and Bill Swanson who took an Alaskan motorcycle trip and stopped by to see us in Anchorage, visited this scenic alpine terrain area with us. The Independence Mine State Historical Park is located up in the hills and consists of old mining machinery and several old buildings which you are allowed to walk around.  We visited this area in July and the temperature was 37 degrees!  Gold was mined here from 1938 through 1941.

Turning south at Glennallen one begins the journey south to Valdez on the Richardson Hwy with the Wrangell mountains to the east.  The Wrangell mountains are within the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The trans-Alaska pipeline is seen here and there as you drive this portion to the trip and, of course, there are more glaciers.  Remember the pipeline carries oil 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to Valdez. Approaching Valdez after 6 hours of changing, beautiful scenery, you enter Keystone Canyon with it’s magnificent waterfalls.

Valdez (pronounced val-deez) has a population of about 4,000 people.  Snow piles remained in town even in June 2012 because of the 38 feet of snow that fell last winter! This is where we met Capt. Fred and went on his yacht, Lu-Lu Belle, for a cruise in Prince William Sound.  On his tour we saw whales breaching and spent a long time watching a young whale playing with a sea lion.  What a fun sight that was as the whale rolled about and the sea lion popped up here and there.  Further on, as our boat drove around iceburgs we saw the Columbia glacier in the distance.  We stopped 7 miles from the glacier because the water was entirely full of iceburgs.  

Did you know there are 100,000 glaciers in Alaska?

Loving AK!     P&L

Whales and other assorted experiences

We’ve been so busy having fun since Paul completed his contract at the Alaska Native Medical Center that we have neglected our blog entries.  Now it is time to catch up.

Paul’s sister, Loisanne, came for a visit in June.  The 3 of us took the 6 hour National Park Boat Tour out of Seward.  We traveled into the fiords of the Kenai peninsula viewing amazing scenery and wildlife.  Puffins flew by our boat but we were unable to get photos so look up these cool birds if you are interested.  Several orcas entertained us in one bay and we learned about the resident orcas who stay in the area year round and the transient orcas who come and go.  Humpbacks were in the bays and we were very satisfied with our viewing as our boat began the journey back to Seward.  Then we came upon the highlight of the tour....8 humpbacks cooperative feeding.  What an amazing sight!  The grace with which these enormous animals came together in such a small area is almost unbelievable but we saw it.  They surfaced together at least 5-6 times near the boat.  The crew had a microphone in the water so we could hear their song as they prepared to surface.  Our photos of this event are OK but to see what we saw really well we suggest you watch the video at  

► 1:44 ► 1:44

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyh_9KJKO_8

We also enjoyed visiting the Alaska Native Heritage Center with Loisanne.  Inside we learned about the 11 major cultural groups and watched some unique games from the past.  The games were designed to develop endurance, agility and strength for hunting.  Paul and I enjoyed watching these games both at the ANHC and at the Native Youth Olympics held earlier in the year in Anchorage.  Outdoors are 6 traditional village sites.  You can enter the sites and discuss the unique features of each dwelling with an Alaskan native.

Really enjoying AK!

P&L