Sourdough & Cottonwood

It feels like a long time ago that we had our first legit, on-the-road experience camping with our new Cricket trailer.  It was only about two weeks ago, but I've decided that a massive road trip has the tendency to warp perception of time.

We're coming to the end of our journey at the time that I'm editing this post - but two weeks ago?  We were Cricket camping rookies.

So I have to say...not too shabby for a couple of newbies.  

Our first two campsites on the road were way nicer than I expected. I had a preconceived notion of, well to be blunt - dirtiness.  I imagined moldy showers, questionable bathroom facilities, and too close for comfort camping neighbors.

Granted, this is coming from someone who has pretty much no experience with camping, campsites, RV's, etc.  So I'm not exactly  working from a vast knowledge base here.  A long winded way to admit complete ignorance!

I'm happy to report that my assumptions were dead wrong. Let's hear it for busting uninformed expectations with reality!  Hooray, enlightenment!

The first campsite was Sourdough Campgrounds in Tok, AK.  We're a little further down the line in our trip as I'm writing this - with several more campsites under our belt at this point - but I can easily say that Sourdough has been my favorite so far.

Our first campsite at Sourdough Campground in Tok, AK

Each campsite was secluded and tucked into the pines.  It was quiet, serene, and relaxing with the cheeps and peeps from the birds and the crisp, clear air. 

Sourdough was a fun little atmosphere, and you could tell that the owners put a lot of love into the place.  There was a self-guided outdoor historical museum, and all sorts of antiques, historical artifacts, & vintage decor displayed all around the facilities. Made for a unique stay.

They also do a pancake toss each evening, but we were a little road weary and didn't make it over to see what it was all about.  We did hear the hoots and hollers, though so I'm sure it's good, clean fun.

The must-do sign photo-op and morning snuggling with the Pugbull in the Cricket

We had breakfast at their cafe in the morning before hitting the road to cross the border into Canada and head into the Yukon.  While we were eating, I couldn't help noticing a yellowing, 1970's era board game on the shelf.

Went along with the whole vintage theme the campground had going on.  Ready?  It was called Alaska Pipeline: The Energy Crisis Game.  How funny.  Fun for all ages!  I wish I grabbed a picture.

Our second for reals-y on the road campsite was across the Canadian border at Cottonwood RV Park in Destruction Bay, Yukon.  Good Lord, the views!

Cheety enjoyed the views, too.  I'd like to think.

The campsite was right on Kluane Lake.  Imagine a startlingly blue lake bordered by snow capped mountains with a truly unbelievable reflection.  Striking!

The hubby wasn't crazy about how open the campsite was.  Not enough trees to hide in for him.  This is a man who values his privacy.  But, I was digging the scenery, and there were plenty of trees for me!

We settled in to relax and cook up some camp dinner - Spaghetti Bolognese a la the hubby.  Tasty and such a satisfying belly warmer after driving all day. We threw in a little vino and we were some happy campers.  Heh.  Couldn't resist.

Our campsite at Kluane Lake & our road trip mascots - Jesus & The Dude

After too much wine and bellies full of pasta, we tucked in to get some sleep.  Destruction Bay isn't hugely further north in Alaska than Kodiak, but I was completely taken aback when I woke up at around 2am to go to the bathroom, and it was full on sunny out.

I thought it was somewhere more like 6am because it was so freaking bright out!  Thank God for sleep masks, I tell ya!

We enjoyed some easy breakfast by the lake before getting back on the road again to Whitehorse, Yukon.  Not much to complain about when the day starts like this.

A little oatmeal, Cheerios, fresh cherries & bananas and coffee to fuel us for another driving day

Our next driving day was a short one of around 3 hours to Whitehorse.  We've been switching it up between camping and hotels, and Whitehorse was a camping break at the Westmark in downtown.

Another day of about this...

So I guess we can say we're not quite Cricket camping newbies anymore.  More like salty road warriors.  Too much?

Yeah.  Too much.

Ta-ta for now.

Moose, Beer, & The Bus

While we spent some time in Talkeetna, AK we also drove a few hours north up to Denali National Park and 49th State Brewing Company in Healy, AK.  Fun day!

Denali Mountain

I knew this, but sort of forgot along the way - Denali is the tallest mountain in North America.  At breakfast one day, we sat next to a bunch of mountain climbers who were in Talkeetna to try and summit Denali.  20,000 feet at the peak!  A little too hard core for me, but hey - if that's what floats your boat, by all means have at it.

Since we had the pup with us, we were limited in which trails we could hike in Denali.  We were good little park patrons and followed the rules, only hiking on paths that were dog friendly.

We didn't see as much or as deep into the park as we would have if we took a bus tour, but what we did see was still memorable and fun.

Especially when we were flagged down by a passing vehicle to let us know there was a moose ahead of us on the trail we were on!

As we rounded the corner, sure enough...moose alert!  Imagine the most enormous horse you've ever seen.  It was gigantic.

That was definitely the highlight of our hike! We ended up veering off the trail we were on and walking on the road to avoid the moose.

It's not like we could have walked past him - way too close quarters for that.  And frankly, kind of dumb.  So, we trotted along the road until we could cut back into the trail again without it being blocked by a massive wild animal!

And P.S. - Cheety didn't even see the moose.  If he did, he would have barked like it was his job.  Probably good that the hubby shuttled him off before he noticed it.  Who knows what a barking little-big dog would have led to!

We came upon some other hikers and warned them about the moose, but their reaction wasn't at all what I expected.  I thought they'd be glad to know so they could avoid running into it unexpectedly.  Not so much.

They basically blurted, "Oh, wow!  Cool, thanks!" As if I was giving them a hot tip.  And then they practically ran in the direction of the moose to try and see it.  Hmmmm.  Not sure about that one. Good luck, boys.  Try not to get charged.  They're seriously enormous beasts.

Like everything else we've seen in our time in Alaska, Denali National Park was truly beautiful. I'm so glad all of this land and natural environment is protected.  Thanks Teddy Roosevelt!

After our moose encounter, we headed up to the 49th State Brewing Company.  What a fun pub with excellent beers and great food!

You've got to love their decor.  Nothing says Alaska like an enormous moose antler chandelier...am I right?

I went with their Baked Blonde ale and the hubby had their Solstice IPA.  Tasty beers, and I was able to branch out and order, for the first time, a yak burger. 

That's right...YAK!  How could I possibly have the option of eating a Yak burger and turn the opportunity down?  Inconceivable!  It was delicious, by the way. Juicy and flavorful - not gamey at all.

A unique feature of 49th State Brewing Company is "the bus."  As some of you may know, the book Into the Wild by John Krakauer was made into a movie in 2007.  It's the story of the fate of Christopher McCandless, a young hiker who disappeared into the Alaskan bush in search of freedom.

The bus at the brewery is a replica of the actual bus where McCandless's remains were found, and is the bus that was created for and used in the movie. 

The actual bus is still there - about 20 miles away out in the wilderness, and there have been several folks over the years who attempted to hike out to see it and either needed to be rescued or died.

Myself - I'd rather check out the movie prop and get a beer and a yak burger than hike 3 days to the real thing, but I don't have that pull so many others do when it comes to the story of Christopher McCandless.

My "carpe diem" is pretty simple.  Good food, good drinks, good company.  But hey, like I said - whatever floats your boat...have at it.  

Wrapping up our time in Talkeetna with moose, beer, and the bus?  Works for me!

Ta-ta for now.

Talkeetna

Our Alaska farewell driving tour is off to a fabulous start!  I've wanted to visit Talkeetna since I first learned about the Denali Brewing Company when I discovered their Single Engine Red Ale the first year we were in Kodiak.

It seemed like a town that had a sort of rugged, wild allure.  And of course there was the draw of visiting Denali Brewing Company.  So somehow, while we were planning our PCS road trip, a detour up to Talkeetna became part of the grand scheme.

Excellent decision!  We drove about 6 hours from Homer up to Talkeetna after catching the ferry from Kodiak, and my first impressions about Talkeetna were spot on with what I expected.  End of the road isolated and a healthy dose of mountain hippies. With a touch of cheeky tourism and extreme sport aficionados added to the mix.

The town itself is tiny, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in character.  Lots of inns, guesthouses, restaurants, pubs, and gift shops.

Downtown Talkeetna

Our guest house was cute and worked for us as far as being dog friendly, but it was nothing to write home about.  A place to sleep at night after we went out exploring each day was about where it fell. 

Denali Brew Pub didn't disappoint!  They had a dog friendly outside patio we could sit at with Cheety, and we ordered dinner and some beers.  I couldn't resist getting a t-shirt and a Denali Brewing Co. pint glass.  Because yes.

We made a point of checking out The Roadhouse after learning it was built around 1917 and was a legitimate Alaska frontier roadhouse.  More importantly, it's reputation for being the best breakfast in town.  Priorities, right?

All I can say is I had one of the best breakfast burritos ever and their rhubarb pie was divine.  I don't know what makes it so good, but I suspect copious amounts of butter and lard are involved. 

Here's a fun fact about Talkeetna that you wouldn't know until trekking up there yourself. During the summer, the air is absolutely teeming with puffs of cotton wafting in the breeze.  Little white fluffs just floating all through the air.

Not just a few here and there.  It's literally snowing cotton.  It almost looks like the puffy white dandelion seeds we all used to pick and blow on when we were kids.

But, it's everywhere. Floating in the breeze, collected in fluffy white drifts all along the sides of the roads, hovering over every surface.  It's remarkable.  You can tell a little bit in the Roadhouse picture above. Makes for a unique atmosphere! Although, I'm sure it's an interior Alaska thing, not just a Talkeetna thing.

I have more to share about our time in Talkeetna, but I'll save it for my next post.  I'm long winded enough as it is.

Alaska Farewell Driving Tour 2016 to be continued!

Ta-ta for now.

On the road...

So Long, Kodiak

It finally crept up on us.  The inevitable.  It was time to leave Kodiak.  I was more sad than I ever thought I would be, that's for sure.

Based on the amount of bitching I did about the rainy, gloomy weather over the last 3 years, you'd think I would be doing a jig as I danced onto the ferry.

Not so.  To my surprise!

And of course, it was sunny out as we waited for our ride, the M/V Tustemena, to arrive at the port.  Kodiak's last laugh, right?

Our ride, the M/V Tustemena

We had a whole bunch of folks surprise us and come by the harbor to see us off as we queued up to board. It was unexpected, and so welcome!  Yet another very Kodiak touch to our last day on the island.

We popped up the Cricket, cracked some beers, and were practically camping at the port while we waited for the boat.  Add in the steady stream of friends dropping by to say goodbye and it was a damn party.

Our road trip gypsy wagon, popped up while we waited for the ferry

We reserved a room on the ferry since we opted for the 11pm departure time, and the plan was to sleep until we arrived on the mainland in Homer about 10 hours later.  Worked like a charm.

I get extra points for not getting sea sick.  Thumbs up to calm seas!

Our stately state room

He makes for a good bunk bed model, no?

Ferry fun

We spent the day in Homer, and stayed at the same hotel we stayed in on our way up here, The Driftwood Inn.  Cute place, lots of character.  We took a walk around downtown Homer and along some of the trails and beaches, mostly took it easy before hitting the road.

We also had an out of this world dinner at a local place called Fat Olive's.  Incredible pecan crusted salmon with roasted veggies.  Top notch eats!  So of course, I was a happy lady.

Oh, by the way, the dog was beyond pissed off at us.  Dogs are allowed on the ferry, but unfortunately they have to stay in your vehicle on the car deck for the duration of the trip.

So he was alone in the Jeep all night.  This did not make for a happy Pugbull.  I swear, he wouldn't even make eye contact with me for the whole next day.  How hilariously grumpy is he here?

That's one angry pup!

Not to worry, he bounced back to himself pretty quickly.  He's nothing if not adaptable.

So, our reality for the next several weeks will be driving, camping, driving, hotels, driving...and more driving.  With magnificent scenery and some stories to tell along the way.  It's our Grand Adventure, part deux.  Stay tuned!

Ta-ta for now.

But We Still Love Him

Note to self:  Dogs who roll in rank, questionable things on the beach do not easily de-stink.

It's not my first rodeo with a smelly dog, but this particular brand of putrid, fishy stank is unholy.  And bonus points for us?  It doesn't want to go away.

Even after an exceptionally sudsy bath.  And the addition of baking soda to the still repugnant neck area where he got all up in it.  And even after copious amounts of baby powder and some essential lemon oil.  It's tenacious.

So about now I'm basking in a lovely combination of dead salmon and rotten sea kelp with a dash of lemon.  We'll call it Eau De Cheety.  Tantalizing, no?

Hey, at least he had a good time, right?  Case in point:

Rolling around in mysterious, decayed nature makes for one happy pup!

We were treated to another precipitation-less day not too long ago, so we hauled ourselves out of the house and went for a hike.

I wish I could say it was legitimately sunny out, but I'll take not raining and run with it.

Adventure dog extraordinaire

F/V Leslie Lee

Hubby and stink butt

We hadn't hiked this area on Near Island in a while. - It was a reminder to us both that we have so many different perspectives to see the shores of Kodiak from at our disposal.

It was excellent to get outside without it raining, but as is always the case when it comes to bald eagles, my day was made when we spotted this handsome guy:

I love catching a bald eagle at a head on angle. They somehow exude wisdom and just epitomize nobility. They also look completely bad-ass. Especially when they look directly at you:

He's all, "Come at me, bro!"

While we were tromping around, we got to see the Tustumena coming in for the afternoon.  It's one of the ferries that serves Kodiak on the Alaska Marine Highway, and might be the one that takes us off of Kodiak for good this summer.  

We see it docked all the time because it comes and goes twice a a day several times a week, so it was kind of fun to see it in action from such a close spot on the shore.  Of course I had to take a few pictures.

People jokingly call it "The Rusty Tusty."  I've only been on the Kennicott - the other Alaska Marine Highway ferry that serves Kodiak, but the hubby rode the Rusty Tusty twice.  It's smaller than the Kennicott, but still a pretty damn big boat.

 We had a good day trekking around with the boy and enjoying our not quite sunny, but blissfully not raining day off together.

Even though somebody decided it was the ideal day for next-level stinkiness.  But we won't name names.

Ta-ta for now.

Winter Blues

Here's a little snippet from pretty much every weather forecast for the last...forever, it feels like:  "Rain for Kodiak today.  Rain tonight, and rain tomorrow.  Rain to continue for the rest of the week and through the weekend."  Uuuugggh.

Case in point - This is next week's forecast.  Which is about what it's been for the last...I don't know...3 weeks?  Not super cold, but just aaallll the rain, gloomy, gray, misty overcast crap anyone can take for so long:

So, to say we appreciated the sunny Saturday we just had is an understatement.  We're talking zippity-doo-dah appreciation.  Because as I've said many times before, Kodiak is stunningly beautiful...when the sun shines.  It's just a damn shame it doesn't happen more often!

As we get closer to leaving, I'm hyper aware of the things I'll truly miss.  Alaska does nature like no where else.

A crisp, sunny winter day is one of my favorites.  It's like the sky is so blue you can hear it.

Cormorants & Oystercatchers enjoying the sunshine - along with everyone else!

Air so cool, clear and oxygen-heavy that it's like breathing endorphins?  Yeah.  I'll miss that.

But along with all the things I'll miss, is also a palpable anticipation of our next move in a few short months.

We have an idea of where we'll be heading, but as anyone with military ties knows, nothing's official until orders are issued.

So the waiting game continues.  In the meantime, I'll be out enjoying this - and saying goodbye - every chance I get...

As long the sun cooperates, anyway.  But, I've lived here just long enough to know - Don't hold my breath!

Ta-ta for now.