I haven't seen my kids for five months and I miss my family terribly. In spite of that, Pam and I chose to spend the holidays here in Alaska so we could enjoy each other's company and see what winter looks like in the north. We were not disappointed.
Our plan was to get the proper clothes and equipment for the climate then head out onto Alaska's road system to see what we could find. We like to make as few reservations as possible. This way, our sense of adventure is heightened by the uncertainty of our future. We did reserve a room and a car initially and we were invited to stay with some friends in Fairbanks, but beyond that we planned to wing it. Two full weeks of doing what we want to do and nobody to tell us we can't.
I arrived a full day before Pam so I had some freedom to do what I wanted. Having been without fast food and adult beverages for five long months, you can guess where I went as soon as possible. If you said McDonald's then you know me pretty well. I enjoyed a Big Mac and fries like I was at the last supper. If there had been a Burger King nearby, I would walked over and eaten a Whopper too because that is comfort food to me. With supper complete, I moved to phase II of returning to normal. Luckily, there was an adult beverage store within walking distance of McDonald's and my hotel, so I strolled inside and grabbed six cool hoppes beverages and returned to my hotel. I retired to my room to enjoy some cable TV and beer. After a while my tummy began to growl. It (my tummy) remembered seeing a pizza shop on the way to the hotel so off I went. We had pizza and beer and cable TV at midnight. Ahhh, paradise!
I was refreshed and ready to receive my sweetie from the airport. The first few days were spent figuring out Anchorage and the surrounding areas. We went to the movies and to a hockey game along with some local sight seeing. We visited, or tried to visit, Portage Glacier, but we couldn't get to it so we decided to visit Whittier instead. This is the strangest little town I ever seen. Whittier is a little community, literally, tuck into the northeast corner of the Kenai Peninsula. To get to it by road you have to go through a tunnel. As we drove around Whittier, I noticed that there were no houses. There was no place to build houses either. There was the port and its buildings, a school, a hotel, an apartment building, and mountains. I later learned that all of the residents live in the apartment building. I haven't decided if that is cozy or weird or smart. It has an interesting history and I recommend doing a Google search on it some day when you are bored.
This is the tunnel to Whittier.The time for us to go north was getting near so we went shopping. I normally hate shopping, but this time was different. We were buying cold weather clothes! I would finally get to see Pam wear a hat and boots and snow pants. This was great, as Pam is notorious for under-dressing for the weather conditions. Finally, I get choose what Pam would wear and she agreed that she would wear whatever I chose. Sweet, sweet revenge! As it turned out, Pam liked all of the stuff that I chose and she looks good in it too. So much for revenge.
We headed for Fairbanks. After driving for an hour or two (or maybe 3) we saw the sign for Talkeetna. This seemed like the perfect time to have lunch and I have heard that the scenery in Talkeetna is incredible. The rumors are correct! What the rumors didn't tell us was that the best hamburger in the world also lived in Talkeetna. We ate at the understaffed, but very pleasant, West Rib Pub and Grill. This place is quaint and loaded with photos and memorabilia from expeditions on Mt. McKinley.
We continued north forever! We saw a few moose and countless gorgeous mountains and rivers. We also saw countless snowmobiles. It was Saturday and the Alaskans were out enjoying their weekend. However, it was soon dark and we no longer saw anything. The last two or three hours of our trip to Fairbanks was on dark, icy, and mountainous roads. I'll never to that again.
We found the home of our friends with no trouble and we were safe and cozy in Fairbanks. We had a laundry list of things to do and see in Fairbanks, most of which we did. Pam had two places that she had to visit and this was not negotiable. We were going to visit North Pole, Alaska. This is a tourist must see. I have never seen so many things made in China that scream American commercialism in one place. The things they sold were beautiful and Christmas-ee and priced right, but I was more interested in the kid's books for some reason. That was a fun store, but right next door was an outdoor exhibit of ice carvings. We paid our money, put on our brand new cold gear, and had a look. The mercury was at about -10 degrees, which is good for ice carvings, and our fancy clothes did exactly what they were supposed to do; keep us warm. We were in awe of some these fantastic works of art. Here are a couple:
There were many more, but you'll have to go there and see them for yourself.
The second place on Pam's list was Chena Hot Springs. The resort and pools are about an hour and fifteen minutes out of Fairbanks at the end of the road. We were visiting at a peak time for the hot springs as this is the time when many Japanese and Korean couples visit the hot springs with the hopes of conceiving a son under the Aurora Borealis. There were a lot of people there but it wasn't crowded like I'd feared it would be. We had plenty of privacy and the water was HOT!
Yes, that's snow and mountains in the background. The pool is outside and the temperature was about -5 degrees. The water temperature varied, but it was well over 100 degrees in the cool spots and probably 110 in the hot spots. Chena Hot Springs,too, has a fun history... look it up.
When we returned to the house, our friends invited us to the fireworks on New Years Eve. Since it is almost 24 hours of daylight on July 4th, they have the fireworks show on New Years Eve when it's dark by 4:30 P.M. We dressed in our finest cold weather clothes, filled thermoses with hot cocoa, and carried lawn chairs to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks campus. Once there, we talked, sipped hot cocoa, and watched a beautiful fireworks show. I had never seen fireworks against a snowy backdrop before. I highly recommend it.
After about four days in Fairbanks we headed south again. This time we were going the long way; to the east through Delta Junction and Glennallen. Our plan was to break the longer drive up into two parts and every mile would be in the daylight. On the way to Glennallen, we saw mountains and mountains and moose. This mom and kids groups was a pleasure to watch.
While we were in Glennallen we got a wild hair stuck and decided to take off for Valdez. This was another fine idea born at the spur of the moment and without any regard for planning. We took off in the morning and had a fantastic drive through the Chugach Mountains. It's tough to drive safely when you're gawking at all of the pretty scenery, but we made it without mishap. After we spent a little time in Valdez we realized that we had screwed up. Because we hate to plan and develop an itinerary, we didn't have enough time to see everything and do everything that we wanted to do in Valdez. There are four hiking trails and seven glaciers that we missed because we didn't have the time. I guess that means we'll have to go back again. While we were in Valdez, however, we saw otters and eagles and lots of boats. Valdez is a beautiful place in the world and I will return again and again. In fact, I'm going to send my re'sume' there even though teachers never leave the Valdez school system. Have a look:
All good things must come to an end and it was time for us to head west toward Anchorage. We drove through more mountains and valleys and saw many, many more spectacular sights. We stopped and got gas at a cute little place in the middle of nowhere and then this happened.
It seems that the car we rented couldn't burn all of the bad gas that we bought and it quit running. We were broke down more than 100 miles from Anchorage and the nearest town was about 30 miles from us. To make matters worse, we were in a mountain pass, next to a cliff in a rock slide zone, on a curve, and it was, of course, below zero. HOLY CRAP!!! We rented a brand new car to avoid breakdowns. So how did this happen to us? What luck? Pam and I know luck, because the luck of the Irish was smiling on us. We had a cell phone signal! Within minutes we were talking with a real human being at Budget Rent a Car. The folks at Budget promised to get to us as soon as they could, so we waited. It got real cold real fast so put on our fancy cold weather gear and waited some more. As we waited I remembered that TV commercial, so I talked to Pam about not smoking, not taking drugs, and not having sex until she was married. It was time well spent. As we waited and talked, car after car and truck after truck stopped to offer help. We were cold and we were way out in the boonies, but we were not scared that anything bad would happen because there was plenty of help if we needed it. After three and a half hours our rescuers arrived. They gave us a new car and sent us on our way. As mishaps go, this one could have been much worse.
Safely back in Anchorage, we got ready for the final leg of our trip; the departure leg. Once again I found myself waiving goodbye to my favorite person in the whole world, my wife Pam. I hope that was the last time I have to say goodbye.
