game over.
We drove like maniacs to reach the ol Spring by Friday, giving us time to clean and repack all of our crap into my wee wee car so that I could make it down to Austin in time to start the ol school-e-o.....man was it strange to drive that tiny thing.....it seemed like we were going so fast at just 50mph....center of gravity is so weird.
so we made it to Big Spring pretty late and had not eaten dinner yet....rolled up to la casa de mis padres
and surprise....no electricity. Welcome home....good thing I had all of that camping gear and some leftover pasta in the car. So we busted out the lanterns and camp stove....and.....out of gas. Nooooo. Everything closes super early in BS, so we were sad, but then I had the brilliant idea of using the grill to heat the pasta....ummm it tasted just like smoke.....gross. and welcome to Big Spring.
The next day was spent packing and cleaning my tent....Chris thought this to be the most absurd thing ever.....but oh well...it was a happy tenty.
And honestly, I don't think i have ever seen my parents so happy to see me.....not because they missed me, but because they missed their CAR. Freaks. Now I miss her....sweet sweet SunnieBee.
10,823.4 miles ......yo. and remarkably, we never had one car problem.....go Denali.
So now we are home, back in Austin....nestled in our own beds. The crazy thing is that I keep waking up in the middle of the night panicking, wondering where the heck I am....I guess i have to be constantly moving to feel settled.
And there it is....to Alaska and back in 2 months and some change.....speaking of change....thanks mom!
We would also like to thank everyone that was so kind to offer us crash pads along the way....it was real...it was fun.....real fun.
It is hard to believe that our country can be so beautiful.... an amazing experience.... one I will never forget..... and one I will enjoy revisiting in my mind from time to time.
F I N I T O
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Box Potatoes and Electric Storms
It was 3 days of hard driving to get Vancouver....we decided to drive back on the AlCan the way we came since the other road apparently had a lot of construction going on.....and oh my god am I glad that we did. There were signs posted everywhere warning people about the fires all around....KEEP DRIVING....DONT STOP. [Seriously....smoke was pouring out from the trees all around us as we speed along the AlCan. The animals had all sought the safety of the road as a natural fire break.]
We were able to stay one more night at Liard hotsprings [It was only a mile out of the fire zone, so we lucked out to find a campsite, as we arrived at about 10 pm]....nice dinner and another dip in the ol steam bath.... night soaking. This time I was not as frightened of the bears, so we stayed out past “dark”....it still didn't get completely dark....beautiful full moon. [twilight set in around midnight. The hot springs lay at the end of a long, meandering boardwalk that hovers above a swamp. The walk takes about 15 minutes or so, and the moon was illuminating the path, along with the surround trees and plants. We were in awe of the full moon that was floating above the treeline while reflecting light onto the water near our feet. We finally arrived at the hot springs, changed and hopped into the steaming waters.]
So I am soakin, soakin, soakin, floatin, enjoying the awesome sulfuric smells around me....mmmm. [There are three ponds in the area available for soaking. The first is near the changing rooms, and there are stairs that lead down into the hot steam.. This area is the hottest and the water slowly drifted downstream over a small man-made wooden waterfall. To the right, stairs lead downward into the second pond. We made our way down these stairs. The moon was slowly shrinking as it rose over the tall dark sentinels which encircled the pond. Twilight was fading into quasi darkness, and all was silent aside from the gurgling water.]
Then I noticed a streak across the sky...I jokingly said to chris that it must be Aurora Borealis since it is the one thing that I have been so bummed about not seeing. He looked up and said yeah right...its just smoke. [It did look like smoke floating by from one of the fires for about 20 minutes.] Then it became brighter and more pronounced...a solid streak of light..... “ I dont know Chris, I think it really might be....what else would make the sky look like that?” And lo and behold, the sky exploded into an array of colors....it was pure magic....I honestly cannot describe what we saw.
[I'll try. First, the single etherial white streak that was bounding across the sky began to widen and split into two streams. The center of the streams stretched and thinned the light into a soft pale white. This nascent magic energy delineated itself clearly from the ordinary heavens.. A defined shape appeared momentarily. An oval canvass perfectly situated between the darkened treetops waited for a moment, breathed in, and sensing it was in the proper place, it began the show.
Bursts of light and color exploded towards us from the center of the oval. Hues of blues, reds, greens and violets ebbed and flowed from the elegant pale light. One hundred and twenty seconds of transformed reality. We are blessed.]
Northern Lights....check.
It really was the coolest thing I have ever seen....ever. And I gotta say that experiencing it while in a hotspring is the way to go. Awe-some.
It still gives me chills to think about it.
[From Liard Springs to Vancouver was another 2 days of hard driving. 10 + Hour days were ahead of us with perfect conditions...But...]
We have learned that It is probably not the best idea to visit a place the year before they host the olympics. why you ask....
CONSTRUCTION. there will be road construction....and not just a little bit....a LOT. I swear they were repaving every inch of B.C. [Every 15 miles there was a 30 mile stretch of construction, repaving, regraveling, retrenching, retouching, re-everythinging the road.]
One thing that we noticed about the road workers in Canada is that they are all really young compared to workers in the states, and many of them were female....at least the ones holding the stop signs....we reckoned that they must be the girlfriends of the blokes on the heavy machinery.
And then they will be doing construction in the city to beautify it a bit. Oh what fun it is to wait in big long long long line. Real fun...
But you gotta love Canada for their lack of cops.....lets see....4,000 miles, and 4 cops sighted equals drive as fast as your little heart desires.....(but dont worry mom, we never broke 100....promise). [It was eerie how few officers of the law there were on the roads...Canadians really drive fast.]
[The night after Liard Hot Springs, we were told a nice campground to stay in by a visitor information center girl...Bear Lake. Sounds great right? A lake, with bears. Probably beautiful. Quiet. Well...Not so. We drove into the town of Bear Lake and it was a logging town. The kind that had stripped all the trees off the hills. Especially the trees nearest to town first. No worries though, we just cooked some tasty pasta, had a glass of wine, and moved on early the next morning.]
And we made it.....Vancouuuuver.
Downtown action, Amazing brunch, walks through Stanley park, garden brides, Yaletown dining, a bit of jazz, rejection salsa, drinks in gastown, Chris having a heart attach over seeing Gursky in the museum...he still wont shut up [GURSKY!}, Wall.E, good street food, interesting china town, crack heads, and sleep about sums it up.
Here is chris's impression [Vancouver has character. Art, music, life. Vancouverians seem to know how to live. Most were friendly, I enjoyed their numerous districts in the city, each with a different sub-culture and scene. Did I mention Gursky was shown at their very fine museum?]
Over the Bay.
After 3 days in Vancouver, we loaded ol sunnie up onto a ferry and headed to Victoria where we concluded our time in maple land.
Victoria was beautiful.....chris found this hostel online that had some pretty cool photos of the room we reserved. Well my friends.....don't judge a hostel by the photos on the web....they can be a bit deceiving, or Really deceiving....we felt like we were in a converted brothel. The Chinese woman running the joint gave us a 30 minute intro into the place including a remedial lesson on how to lock the door and how to prop the door open. Then she gave Chris the password to the internet...he glanced at it, looked at me with a lifeless expression and revealed it to me. It must have been 30 characters long.....we cracked up. [It would take the NSA 10 years to crack that code]
there was a sign in the bathroom that said...make sure to clean up your hair before leaving the bathroom....or the turtles will get you!!!!
Classy place. [So strange.]
We walked around the warf area, had a nice little organic dinner, walked some more, had some sunset cocktails at the Empress hotel, then found a pub that was offering 2-4-1 burgers....we were in like flynn. We ordered our food and beers and I popped off to the washroom and when I returned Chris has a mild shit-eating grin on his face....Im a bit confused, then he points over to the table across from us and says...guess where that guy is from?
I dont know....Austin? Nope, guess again. Houston? Guess again.
Not Big Spring. Bingo. What? Really?
Yep....we are taking over the world....one soul at a time. Anyone heard of one Skip Anderson?
He said he was only born there and moved on along....but kinda funny anyhow.
OH Big Spring.
And it was on to
Washington, where even the bridges are green.
Ferry time back to the US of A. Washin Washington.
So approximately 5 minutes into Washington we have already seen as many cops as the entire time we were in Canada.....hum. Welcome back.
We headed round to the Olympic peninsula for a little taste of the rain forrest and beaches in these parts. We camped out at Mora and headed down to Rialto Beach...right across from La Push...maybe you have heard of it? It was really crazy....Huge Huge logs everywhere.....Your driftwood, floating underwater, breaking into pieces, pieces, pieces.....just driftwood hollow and of no use......blah blah....silly Scots. [The driftwood there is really quite unique. Imagine miles and miles of beach covered with tree trunks smoothed over from years of erosion.]
Had an amazing sunset on the beach....there were all of these cool rock stacks just off shore that made for some pretty cool photos (if you happen to be shooting with a Nikon D2X).
You know what I really really love? The smell of the sea. That salty, sea-weedy, fishy smell all wrapped into one. I love that. I should have bottled some to take home. Instead I stole like 7 pounds of rocks. I also love rocks. They make me happy. [So strange. We have since lost .2 miles per gallon for our MPG.]
The next morning we drove up to the Hoh trail (passing a little town called Forks, maybe you have heard of it?) Who da Hoh, Chris is da Hoh.
Hey guess what it does in a rain forrest.....it rains. We got a little wet. I made chris hike in the rain since he revealed that he never had before. Ha, take that. [The nice thing is that it doesn't matter if it is raining in the rainforest because the trees don't let rain to the forest floor. So I didn't even get very wet. :)] It was beautiful. It was like being in the Ewak forrest...I was just waiting for Yoda to pop out at any time.
Giant trees. Giant mossy trees. Moss beards are cool by the way....I don't care what Chris says. [Fine I'll post it.]
Saw a few elk, but after seeing signs in the bathroom that said beware of elk, several people have been attacked, it kinda freaked me out a bit. My plan was going to be to trip chris and run if we were attacked....I think he could use a good elk lashing or two.
We then decided to have movie night in the tent. We browsed through my hard drive and decided on this Twilight movie.
Well looky there.....it turns out that it is based in exact area that we are in.....if only we had watched it the day before we might have taken the time to explore Forks and La Push. We were pretty impressed at how accurate everything was in the movie....La Push really is on an Indian reservation, and Forks is a real little town....I guess the author is from around here. Anyhow, it made the movie a bit more entertaining for us. Actually, that is the second time we accidentally watched a movie while almost on location...we watched the Proposal while in Alaska....funny that one.
Aberdeen.....think box potatoes. [13 dollar box potatoes. Get out of the 50's people! Especially if you charge $13 for something nostalgic like box potatoes.]
We then decided to head over to seattle, so we got on the computer and tried to find a room. Not gonna happen....2 hours later we still had no room. Turns out the Yankees were in town.....those damn yankees. We had to stay in a hostel in Olympia for the night instead. It was cute. Then we had our splurge night or 2.....mainly because we got the last hotel room for saturday and sunday....really.
Seattle....think mini NY with a cross of SF. Cool. Really Cool.
I saw the oldest book store, fleas in dresses, the space needle and a Frank Gehry building, Pikes market....which in my opinion was a lot more hype than product...but we didn't stay long, another art museum....with Imogen Cunningham, the Capital Hill area with a fine cup of joe, and last but not least.....a night of salsa dancing....Salsa Brava. Chris was one happy boy. And I only ran into and elbowed 7 people...it was a good night.....the band was fantastic, and it was all free! Go Seattle.
Now sadly, our time has just about run out. We are on the home stretch.
Chris's brother was very nice and hosted us for 2 nights while we gave Sunniebee a bath and went to sample some wines from the region. Eastern Washington is the new Napa. Thanks Chris's brother....
We are now quickly heading to Big Spring where Chris will get to meet “the crew” because apparently there are birthday festivities going on. Your in for a hoot Mr. And we will sadly have to part from Mrs. Sunnie.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Up in Smoke.
Don't anchor in anchorage.
We stayed in the fabulous City Garden B&B the first night....it is without a doubt the nicest place we have stayed so far. Decorated to the T.....not a beat missed.....great location and a great host.
We were then very sad....we were seemingly smart and called ahead and reserved a room in this other place, that was not nearly as nice and almost the same price...boooo. You see...sometimes it pays to just cruise up and take your chances Chris. [eyes are rolling.]
We spent the next rainy day in the museum there....mainly learning about gold....how it is formed, extracted, and gazing upon a variety of masterfully crafted pieces from all over the earth.
the earth....what a grand gift. [the exhibit was really cool. there were large chunks of gold, small crystalline gold, and fine crafted pieces from each major civilization since the incans.]
then I was able to visit with my friend Bridget (Hawaii marine turtle pal) who lives here now with her hubbie and 2 (I am sure amazing) little ones. Hi Bridge....wish we could have hung longer! It was really good to see you again!
And Chris was able to go salsa dancing....[sweeeeet] we were driving downtown to our favorite restaurant in town (Glacier Brewhouse)...well, its the only one we went to.....and chris sees a neon sign with SALSA lit up....he cheered with glee....yipeeeeeeee.
He found some Russian action that night....yeah baby! [2 russians in fact. hey, alaska is cold. apparently they were both trained in ballet, so they were fun to dance with.]
Doh! (slap to the forehead)
Homer.
Were going down to Homer just for the helofit. (If you say hell of it really fast, it sounds like halibut)
It was raining when we arrived....then cleared up....just for us.
Chris's favorite thing about Homer was the food...and I aint gonna lie....that green curry halibut was the buz-om [i think she means bomb, which in modern lingo means it was great.]. (the waitress on the other hand is in serious need of a massage (or smack in the face)). [Smack in the face is modern lingo for mean.]
My favorite thing was fishing for halibut...for the hell of it. And the Salty Dog saloon where they brew their own beer and serve it in Sobe bottles [they don't brew their beer there...they brew it at Homer Brewing Co., and 1 sobe bottle was a measly $7.50]....the label even says that they will kick your ass if you make off with one of the bottles...now that is recycling folks! [i wonder how sobe feels about that?!]
Unfortunately I did not win the derby, ( at the beginning of each fishing season the Homer Derby officials tag a few halibut and if you catch one, you get the price marked on the tag.....and the big jackpot goes to the lucky soul who reels in the biggest catch of the summer) but I did catch 2 little guys that gave my arm quite the workout. Actually...I caught about 7, but kept throwing them back in hopes of the BIG one....he never came, so I settled for these 2.
I tried to get Chris to join me.....he was not having any of it....he sure didn't complain when he was eating the fish though! [it was tasty. i was spending 6 hours on the images from Denali while she was fishing, for your view pleasure.] I am pretty sure that we are human thermometers at this point....I even began to get these bad headaches....mercury poisoning!!!!. Unless Chris is trying to poison me so he can make off with Sunniebee and hide in the Alaskan wilderness...oh wait...he wouldn't last a day. [yep, i'm a city boy.]
Bar time with a drunken local that kept passing out and waking up and asking Chris the same question over and over again [wow...yeah...think fighter. a bad one...the one that gets beaten up everytime he picks a fight...]....Chris obligingly answered every time after viewing all of the fresh wounds on this dudes forehead and hand....uh, yeah.
It was annoyingly funny. [he finally gave up, put his head down on the table and fell asleep even though the musicians were playing with their amps turned to 11. oh, and they were good.]
Su Su Seward. [Named after Seward, you know, William H. Seward...Secretary of State Seward under Jackson, the expansionist.....He was the guy who made the whole deal with Russia for the purchase of Alaska. At 4 a.m. on March 30, 1867, Seward emerged from a meeting with a desperate for money Russian minister. The Russian minister left with 7.2 million ($100 million in today's scratch) in his countries pocket. Seward was mocked heavily by the public and the media for having purchased such a large piece of unknown ice.]
It was raining when we arrived in Seward....then cleared up....just for us.
Actually, it was flooding rain...for about 2 weeks...then we arrived and brought miss sunnie.
Blue sky? what better than a little boat ride? We took a fiord tour up to Aialik Glacier ( really, how many glaciers can one person see....geeeeze). [It was awesome! The below glacier is 3/4 of a mile wide at the water's edge.]
Perfect day.
3 types of whales....humpback of course ( I mean, who hasn't seen these a hundred times ), followed by the fin whale (it is the second largest whale and the second largest living animal after the Blue Whale, growing to nearly 27 meters), then I had to get all Whale Rider and call up the Orcas. They came of course. [She did. She emitted a high pitched whiny sound for about 10 seconds. I glanced at her, giving her the, are you crazy? look, then about a minute later they all appeared. It was uncanny, especially since all she had been talking about the entire trip was 1. Orcas, and 2. The northern lights. Check 1.] A little Shamu [Orcas for those of you who don't visit Sea World] pod....daddy, momma, baby, and sis.
Bald eagle...finally. Seals, sea lions, Glaciers calving (why do they say that?....every time i hear it i think of my dad pulling out a calf from a cow's butt [and she is a biologist folks.]....gross...anywhoo)
PUFFINS! my muffins are a puffin. they can swim down 300ft! then they can barely fly because they are so fat with food. I like the ones with the mohawks the best. [Puffins are cool, they only head to land to do the egg thing.]
5 or so other types of feathered friends, but the creature who stole my heart was the otter. Oh i love them.....I really really want one....soooo cute. here i am.....just laying in the middle of the sea scratching my belly.....laying on my back....yeah yeah yeah....scratch scratch scratch.....lick lick lick....slick slick slickin the hair back. [They are so cute, it makes you want to club one to take home for a pet.] We were able to touch an otter pelt in a museum....no wonder they were almost hunted to extinction....[ It was Jesus fur.....JESUS it's soft! ] They are the hairiest animals ever....literally.
On the next day (which was just a nice as the day before) we trekked up to the Harding Ice Field.
Only an 8 miler, but you forget how hard it is to hike straight up for 3 miles [3,500 ft. elevation change + 500 ft. more for the part we did to get some pics!], then back down.....and you forget how sore that will make you for the next 3 days or so......SO sore....we are currently in that state of painful acidic goodness. But was it worth it you ask? Hell yeah!
Chris labeled it as the highlight of the trip thus far...wow. Chris! He was a champ...I guess it was just a matter of fuelage. [Ferrari baby] Pure Ice..blue Ice....mounds and mounds of Ice... [1,100 square miles of ice with 40 glaciers spawning from it.]
It was chilling it was so cool.....[The most dificult thing to convey is the sheer size of the ice fields, so I'm including a couple extra pics to give you an idea of scale...the bottom two pics have people on the ridge line to give you a sense of size. You can match up the mountains from the panorama with the first image, then the part of the ice from the second to see the scale for the third.]
and what I almost found more impressive than the ginormous glacial fields surrounding us was the couple that we passed as we were hiking down.....each with a child strapped to their backs! [That was amazing...the mother mentioned surrendering a child to a bear if they encountered one....i guess that is one way to lighten the load.] It totally changed my perspective on traveling with children...I've never viewed them as bartering tools. Seriously though, some people just amaze me....wont let anything stop them! Good for you guys!!!! See people with kids....its not the end of the world....you can do everything you could before....its just twice as hard!!!
And then sadly, we had to say goodbye to Alaska. Our grand plans of hiking through Wrangle – St. Elias National Park were smoked....really, smoked. [Cheeched, Chonged, Up in Smoke. I was really looking forward to seeing this park too...Locals all told us that it was the secret gem of Alaska. Especially since there are no tour buses there...]
There must be a huge forrest fire right near by [aka, in the park....Wrangle-St. Elias Park is the largest park in North America, and it is wild. Meaning no trails, no cars, no nothing, just wilderness, so I guess they just let the fire burn if it is going to burn. You can imagine the amount of smoke generated in a park the size of New Jersey...]....you cant even see for 50 ft as I look out the window now....so sad. OH well, I guess we have to save something for later right?
So we are Vancouver bound.....back to the AlCan and down baby, down. And let us know if you have any connections in B.C. or Seattle area! wink wink.
love, joy, and a bit of heart ache as we leave this oh so grandiose countryside. [Back to Canada, where groceries are cheap, but the gas is pricey.]
We stayed in the fabulous City Garden B&B the first night....it is without a doubt the nicest place we have stayed so far. Decorated to the T.....not a beat missed.....great location and a great host.
We were then very sad....we were seemingly smart and called ahead and reserved a room in this other place, that was not nearly as nice and almost the same price...boooo. You see...sometimes it pays to just cruise up and take your chances Chris. [eyes are rolling.]
We spent the next rainy day in the museum there....mainly learning about gold....how it is formed, extracted, and gazing upon a variety of masterfully crafted pieces from all over the earth.
the earth....what a grand gift. [the exhibit was really cool. there were large chunks of gold, small crystalline gold, and fine crafted pieces from each major civilization since the incans.]
then I was able to visit with my friend Bridget (Hawaii marine turtle pal) who lives here now with her hubbie and 2 (I am sure amazing) little ones. Hi Bridge....wish we could have hung longer! It was really good to see you again!
And Chris was able to go salsa dancing....[sweeeeet] we were driving downtown to our favorite restaurant in town (Glacier Brewhouse)...well, its the only one we went to.....and chris sees a neon sign with SALSA lit up....he cheered with glee....yipeeeeeeee.
He found some Russian action that night....yeah baby! [2 russians in fact. hey, alaska is cold. apparently they were both trained in ballet, so they were fun to dance with.]
Doh! (slap to the forehead)
Homer.
Were going down to Homer just for the helofit. (If you say hell of it really fast, it sounds like halibut)
It was raining when we arrived....then cleared up....just for us.
Chris's favorite thing about Homer was the food...and I aint gonna lie....that green curry halibut was the buz-om [i think she means bomb, which in modern lingo means it was great.]. (the waitress on the other hand is in serious need of a massage (or smack in the face)). [Smack in the face is modern lingo for mean.]
My favorite thing was fishing for halibut...for the hell of it. And the Salty Dog saloon where they brew their own beer and serve it in Sobe bottles [they don't brew their beer there...they brew it at Homer Brewing Co., and 1 sobe bottle was a measly $7.50]....the label even says that they will kick your ass if you make off with one of the bottles...now that is recycling folks! [i wonder how sobe feels about that?!]
Unfortunately I did not win the derby, ( at the beginning of each fishing season the Homer Derby officials tag a few halibut and if you catch one, you get the price marked on the tag.....and the big jackpot goes to the lucky soul who reels in the biggest catch of the summer) but I did catch 2 little guys that gave my arm quite the workout. Actually...I caught about 7, but kept throwing them back in hopes of the BIG one....he never came, so I settled for these 2.
I tried to get Chris to join me.....he was not having any of it....he sure didn't complain when he was eating the fish though! [it was tasty. i was spending 6 hours on the images from Denali while she was fishing, for your view pleasure.] I am pretty sure that we are human thermometers at this point....I even began to get these bad headaches....mercury poisoning!!!!. Unless Chris is trying to poison me so he can make off with Sunniebee and hide in the Alaskan wilderness...oh wait...he wouldn't last a day. [yep, i'm a city boy.]
Bar time with a drunken local that kept passing out and waking up and asking Chris the same question over and over again [wow...yeah...think fighter. a bad one...the one that gets beaten up everytime he picks a fight...]....Chris obligingly answered every time after viewing all of the fresh wounds on this dudes forehead and hand....uh, yeah.
It was annoyingly funny. [he finally gave up, put his head down on the table and fell asleep even though the musicians were playing with their amps turned to 11. oh, and they were good.]
Su Su Seward. [Named after Seward, you know, William H. Seward...Secretary of State Seward under Jackson, the expansionist.....He was the guy who made the whole deal with Russia for the purchase of Alaska. At 4 a.m. on March 30, 1867, Seward emerged from a meeting with a desperate for money Russian minister. The Russian minister left with 7.2 million ($100 million in today's scratch) in his countries pocket. Seward was mocked heavily by the public and the media for having purchased such a large piece of unknown ice.]
It was raining when we arrived in Seward....then cleared up....just for us.
Actually, it was flooding rain...for about 2 weeks...then we arrived and brought miss sunnie.
Blue sky? what better than a little boat ride? We took a fiord tour up to Aialik Glacier ( really, how many glaciers can one person see....geeeeze). [It was awesome! The below glacier is 3/4 of a mile wide at the water's edge.]
Perfect day.
3 types of whales....humpback of course ( I mean, who hasn't seen these a hundred times ), followed by the fin whale (it is the second largest whale and the second largest living animal after the Blue Whale, growing to nearly 27 meters), then I had to get all Whale Rider and call up the Orcas. They came of course. [She did. She emitted a high pitched whiny sound for about 10 seconds. I glanced at her, giving her the, are you crazy? look, then about a minute later they all appeared. It was uncanny, especially since all she had been talking about the entire trip was 1. Orcas, and 2. The northern lights. Check 1.] A little Shamu [Orcas for those of you who don't visit Sea World] pod....daddy, momma, baby, and sis.
Bald eagle...finally. Seals, sea lions, Glaciers calving (why do they say that?....every time i hear it i think of my dad pulling out a calf from a cow's butt [and she is a biologist folks.]....gross...anywhoo)
PUFFINS! my muffins are a puffin. they can swim down 300ft! then they can barely fly because they are so fat with food. I like the ones with the mohawks the best. [Puffins are cool, they only head to land to do the egg thing.]
5 or so other types of feathered friends, but the creature who stole my heart was the otter. Oh i love them.....I really really want one....soooo cute. here i am.....just laying in the middle of the sea scratching my belly.....laying on my back....yeah yeah yeah....scratch scratch scratch.....lick lick lick....slick slick slickin the hair back. [They are so cute, it makes you want to club one to take home for a pet.] We were able to touch an otter pelt in a museum....no wonder they were almost hunted to extinction....[ It was Jesus fur.....JESUS it's soft! ] They are the hairiest animals ever....literally.
On the next day (which was just a nice as the day before) we trekked up to the Harding Ice Field.
Only an 8 miler, but you forget how hard it is to hike straight up for 3 miles [3,500 ft. elevation change + 500 ft. more for the part we did to get some pics!], then back down.....and you forget how sore that will make you for the next 3 days or so......SO sore....we are currently in that state of painful acidic goodness. But was it worth it you ask? Hell yeah!
Chris labeled it as the highlight of the trip thus far...wow. Chris! He was a champ...I guess it was just a matter of fuelage. [Ferrari baby] Pure Ice..blue Ice....mounds and mounds of Ice... [1,100 square miles of ice with 40 glaciers spawning from it.]
It was chilling it was so cool.....[The most dificult thing to convey is the sheer size of the ice fields, so I'm including a couple extra pics to give you an idea of scale...the bottom two pics have people on the ridge line to give you a sense of size. You can match up the mountains from the panorama with the first image, then the part of the ice from the second to see the scale for the third.]
and what I almost found more impressive than the ginormous glacial fields surrounding us was the couple that we passed as we were hiking down.....each with a child strapped to their backs! [That was amazing...the mother mentioned surrendering a child to a bear if they encountered one....i guess that is one way to lighten the load.] It totally changed my perspective on traveling with children...I've never viewed them as bartering tools. Seriously though, some people just amaze me....wont let anything stop them! Good for you guys!!!! See people with kids....its not the end of the world....you can do everything you could before....its just twice as hard!!!
And then sadly, we had to say goodbye to Alaska. Our grand plans of hiking through Wrangle – St. Elias National Park were smoked....really, smoked. [Cheeched, Chonged, Up in Smoke. I was really looking forward to seeing this park too...Locals all told us that it was the secret gem of Alaska. Especially since there are no tour buses there...]
There must be a huge forrest fire right near by [aka, in the park....Wrangle-St. Elias Park is the largest park in North America, and it is wild. Meaning no trails, no cars, no nothing, just wilderness, so I guess they just let the fire burn if it is going to burn. You can imagine the amount of smoke generated in a park the size of New Jersey...]....you cant even see for 50 ft as I look out the window now....so sad. OH well, I guess we have to save something for later right?
So we are Vancouver bound.....back to the AlCan and down baby, down. And let us know if you have any connections in B.C. or Seattle area! wink wink.
love, joy, and a bit of heart ache as we leave this oh so grandiose countryside. [Back to Canada, where groceries are cheap, but the gas is pricey.]
Friday, July 31, 2009
Suicidal Bunnies.
We made it, we're here, we're here!
ALASKA baby, ALASKA.
68 degrees and sunny!
The northern most border crossing in our northern most state. there was even a worker from Texas at the border.
It was an amazing day....clear skies, fresh air, amazing views. [the road to this point was drudgery. the experience of leaving behind a strong bitter taste into a new landscape was with us as we parted from Dawson City. crossing the border was the realization of that moment. from bitter to tasty. mmmm, Alaska.]
And then we came up with 10 reasons why Alaska is cooler than Canada:
1.Beer is cheaper
2.Its real beer
3.No more of that crazy Eh talkin
4.Less RVers
5.the highest mountain in North America
6.It contains 5,ooo miles worth of islands
7.Its part of America....The America, thanks mr. seward, no folly here.
8.The expensive food is at least good and 2x portions.
9.Chicken, Alaska
10.Suicidal Bunnies
Chicken. Chicken, Alaska. What an amazing place. Everyone should get laid there.
We were then on our way to Delta Junction [and bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, EVERYWHERE. all tempting fate on the side of the road. they all must have been so full of life, they were tiring of it. inches from the tire they would hop, then back into the bush on the side of the road. 20 or so had an adrenaline rush before....] and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a bunny suicide. [sigh.] Chris was driving....thank god I don't have that on my conscience! [it was a sad moment, a bunny jumped out in front of the car, landed in the middle of the front, as we passed over it, i looked back in the rearview, and there were; unfortunately, no survivors.] There must have been at least 20 bunnies on the side of the road in a 3 second time span.
I guess they are screwing like rabbits up in here! [apparently it is for the best, with their live life, taste death attitude...jeeez, maybe they are australian bunnies.]
We made it to Delta Junction and were really peckish, so stopped in a roadside dive where we both fell in love.....with some halibut. Oh lordie was it fantastic.....soft, moist, not too fishy and delicious.
So Chris likes to call ahead and reserve places for us to stay....[after cori stressing like carbon being made into diamond about not having places to stay...i started calling places.] so he calls up this one place on his fancy phone and reserves us a room. Then after driving for about 15 minutes outside of town, in the middle of nowhere, I began to get a little worried....then we saw the sign....The Country Inn B&B.....well, they were not lying about the country part! This nice lady ushered us to our house....nobody else was there, so we had free reign....how nice it was to be in a house! Then she brought over this fantastic breakfast...i would say the best breakfast we have had on the trip....some omelet concoction with BACON and a giant slice of coffee cake ....chris kept trying to steal my cake....he has quite the sweet tooth...I, on the other hand, am sweet enough as it is.
Then I went to the main building to pay, and well, it was some kind of church with a huge kitchen and 2 old ladies a singin and a cookin up a storm. They gave us some Jesus coffee....Jesus was it bitter!
We decided to take the scenic route to Denali National Park by heading down the Denali Highway....we have now discovered that “scenic” must mean dirt road in some other language.
scenic: dirt road with lots of potholes and a washboard -like surface that is never driven down, therefore is deemed “scenic”.
not really...it was not so bad, and the scenery was really nice...but we were happy to hit the pavement.
and here we are Miss Sunniebee. Denali.
The Denali has reached Denali !!!!!!
4,938.5 miles, and we are here....in one piece....we have refrained from killing one another (but still have a ways to go)....and wine is cheap again!!!! yeah. [the denali np store is the cheapest store in alaska.]
So far the bear count is 11. That is, we have seen 11 bears on the side of the road (4 of those were cubbies).
So we pull up to the information center to get our camp spot for the night, and lo and behold....there were 2 more Texas plates in the parking lot. One was a mini cooper packed to the brim with crap. Me and Chris looked at one another and said.... heeeeell no..... that would have been us in my car.... thanks again mom! (although their trip is probably costing them half what it is costing us)...oh well....this is livin.
Chris decided to call ahead again early that morning to see which campsites were open in the park, and once again we lucked out and got a slot at Wonder Lake. (sometimes it pays to be a planner) [we really lucked out on that one...usually it requires a 6 month advance booking to reserve a spot there..]It is a nice campsite at the end of the road in Denali next to the lake, and if you are really lucky, you might get that amazing shot of Mt. McKinley with its reflection on the lake. (We were not that lucky) We woke every morning at 5:30 am , but did not get lucky enough for the reflection shot.
But lucky enough to see 2 momma grizzlies, 3 baby grizzlies, 1 golden eagle, 1 giant male moose, 1 caribou, 1 wolf (alpha), 2 red foxes, one beaver working away on his dam, and the freaking cutest thing ever.....a weasel. I dont know if you guys have ever seen a weasel, but oh my god, it was really THE cutest thing ever....look it up...short tailed red weasel....apparently they turn white, like so many animals here, in the winter.
We lucked out on the bus ride to the campsite and got Mona as our driver....she was awesome. We have decided that Denali is our favorite national park ever. Everyone (except this one cranky old smokin bus driver) was super nice. [and totally informed and enthusiastic about the park]
The crazy thing about Denali is that there are only about 4 trails in the park, and is therefore referred to as a trail-less park. Which means that you can just go off trampling wherever you like. In fact, they ask that you do not walk in a line....walk side by side, so that you do not create a trail.....Chris was really happy about this since he does not have to walk in front anymore. Then I thought on it a little more....hum, no trails....that means you need a topographical map and have to navigate your way around so as not to get lost in the wilderness with all of the grizzly bears and wolves and moose.....hum......navigate.....hum.....yeah, I don't think we are going hiking Chris....he happily concurred.
As most of you know, Cori and Directions don't really know one another very well, in fact, we are complete strangers. Then i thought of all those times me and my dad went tramping through colorado parks without trails and he would make me turn around and tell him how to get back to camp....but nahhhh....not this time.....not without the ol GPS. [Cori + City boy Chris on a hike with no trail equals a disgruntled rescue team in t-3 days.]
So the bus ride was stunning.... “the light is just amazing on those mountains” says Chris....so I made the bus driver pull over (as I have done 1,000 times so far) [she is thankfully exceptionally patient.] so that Chris could get a photo....which of course means that I am entitled to a print now......ha.
And then we rounded the mountain, and we saw her.....peaking out of the clouds....Mamma McKinley, or Denali....meaning “the great one” in native Athabaskan tongue.
What a sight she is....20,320 ft. So we are now in the 30% club....only 30% of people coming to the park actually get to see her....she sleeps a lot under a blanket of clouds, but she was alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic this day. [30% is actually counting 24 hours out of every day...so apparently we are actually in the 10% club.]
There are so many mountains in Alaska that they don't name them all....too much paperwork i guess.
Lazy alaskans. [Most of the mountains surrounding Denali actually have no names!]
So camping at Wonder lake was pretty good....you know, we got to know the Alaskan state bird really well.....so well that Chris decided to write an Ode to it....here it is.
An Ode to the MOSQUITO:
needle piercing skin
all the blood therein
divine nectar of red
come and get thee fed
fly away your short days
between those with flesh
come and get your blood filled craze
after we leave our mesh
25 types of vampire
25 ways of crushing your empire
a fist, a hand,
a foot against the land
fly fly away quick
to a hidden place unmanned
for the ambrosia of sweet life
will overpower your fear of strife
although you come from the world
of pleasure and pain
that sweet sweet drug
will bring you back again
you risk all for living full
and with your multitude
you solidify your rule
through pestilence oh so cruel
one the precipice of death you hover
until my hand you discover
falls faster than you can find
your ever elusive cover
perhaps this is the life you choose
perhaps life has made the choice instead
either way,
i wish you were dead.
(but thanks for the fish, and the blueberries..ah balance)
Those damn things were ruthless....they bit me on the palm of my hand....the palm...and behind the ears...and on top of the head...on my scalp. I hate them!!!!!!!!! Thank god my dad bought me a mosquito head net years back.....I really never thought i would wear that thing, but it was absolutely necessary.
So Denali was everything we had hoped for and more...the more being a weasel....and about 50 mosquito bites. buggers...for real.
Just imagine a grand valley, whimsical mountains, meandering streams, and a lotta wildlife. a lotta.
Its pretty much fantastic...but I guess they say a picture is worth a thousand words.....
Bye Denali.....you were fantastico.
Talkeetna is a small sort of hippy town, well, filled with hippy type. We had an amazing breakfast at the Roadhouse (make sure to only order a half plate here folks), and it was on to our flight.
Captain Paul. What a good guy. The forecast was partially cloudy, but we went anyways. Flying, flying, flying along. where cars look like ants and everything is but a mere pattern down below.
[We began over the plains approaching the park, rivers and streams carved out by glaciation thousands of years ago. as we flew, the foothills outside of the windows slowly gained elevation, brandishing their barren rock, and hinting at the deep snows that continue to linger within the deep mountains. the abrupt change in landscape quickly became apparent once we passed into the southeast boundary of the park. as we passed the foothills, the landscape quickly changed. lakes, rivers and streams transformed into their former selves, ancient glaciers.
frigid cold, relentlessly pushing moraine down into the valleys below the glaciers push and pull the landscape as they slowly flow. the clouds obscured the high peaks and the sun occasionally revealed glimpses into the heart of the park. in these moments, we were able to see the seemingly endless mountain terrain, seemingly impenetrable except by plane, we were broaching an unknown territory...airborne and instantly miniscule. it was humbling and astounding.
as we climbed altitude and began to take note of the massive peaks surrounding us on either side of the plane, cori and i exchanged ecstatic glances. we were giddy, and smiling as both of us had rarely experienced an opportunity to see this raw landscape in such a unique way. both of us were overwhelmed and impressed.
And then i saw It.
Denali, the high one, came into view. clear as a bell through a din of noise, all else was put to rest beneath it.
Standing at over 20,300 feet, i had to tilt my head 45 degrees upwards, high above the surrounding mountains to view the summit. the apex was encircled by a wisp of a cloud that submitted to the height of the mountain. excitedly, i motioned to cori to look up and out the cockpit window in hopes that she could she what i was seeing. she did. her face lit up into a smile of amazement. it was a truly one of kind experience, and i'm thankful to have had it.]
Glacier landing what what?
We skied in the plane down a glacier...how cool is that? The plane had skis.....and we landed on a glacier. [so cool yep.] There was this guy from Cabo, mexico on the plane with us that had never before seen snow. And it was snowing up there.....he was in heaven....I made him make a snowball before we had to board again.
It was an amazing flight....here is a little clip i took.....
Then we were invited to the annual fiesta that Talkeetna Air Taxi (the company we went with) was throwing down that night. Whiskey Tango. Naturally it was a country theme....we felt right at home with all of the cowboy hats and chili....ummm chili. [cori wishes it was chile though.] did i mention free beer? yeah.....we stuck around for a while.....and met several people from Texas who have migrated there....basically I think a good portion of Texans have moved to Alaska...we keep meeting them...everywhere....and it is a little like Texas here....you know minus the mountains and sea life and green....a little like home.
And we also met the funniest guy in the world. Those new yorkers, you gotta love them. We got an ab workout that night. And saw our captain dressed in a full mariachi garb....he looked just like chevy chase from the 3 amigos....hilarious.
OH Talkeetna....good stuff.
ALASKA baby, ALASKA.
68 degrees and sunny!
The northern most border crossing in our northern most state. there was even a worker from Texas at the border.
It was an amazing day....clear skies, fresh air, amazing views. [the road to this point was drudgery. the experience of leaving behind a strong bitter taste into a new landscape was with us as we parted from Dawson City. crossing the border was the realization of that moment. from bitter to tasty. mmmm, Alaska.]
And then we came up with 10 reasons why Alaska is cooler than Canada:
1.Beer is cheaper
2.Its real beer
3.No more of that crazy Eh talkin
4.Less RVers
5.the highest mountain in North America
6.It contains 5,ooo miles worth of islands
7.Its part of America....The America, thanks mr. seward, no folly here.
8.The expensive food is at least good and 2x portions.
9.Chicken, Alaska
10.Suicidal Bunnies
Chicken. Chicken, Alaska. What an amazing place. Everyone should get laid there.
We were then on our way to Delta Junction [and bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, EVERYWHERE. all tempting fate on the side of the road. they all must have been so full of life, they were tiring of it. inches from the tire they would hop, then back into the bush on the side of the road. 20 or so had an adrenaline rush before....] and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a bunny suicide. [sigh.] Chris was driving....thank god I don't have that on my conscience! [it was a sad moment, a bunny jumped out in front of the car, landed in the middle of the front, as we passed over it, i looked back in the rearview, and there were; unfortunately, no survivors.] There must have been at least 20 bunnies on the side of the road in a 3 second time span.
I guess they are screwing like rabbits up in here! [apparently it is for the best, with their live life, taste death attitude...jeeez, maybe they are australian bunnies.]
We made it to Delta Junction and were really peckish, so stopped in a roadside dive where we both fell in love.....with some halibut. Oh lordie was it fantastic.....soft, moist, not too fishy and delicious.
So Chris likes to call ahead and reserve places for us to stay....[after cori stressing like carbon being made into diamond about not having places to stay...i started calling places.] so he calls up this one place on his fancy phone and reserves us a room. Then after driving for about 15 minutes outside of town, in the middle of nowhere, I began to get a little worried....then we saw the sign....The Country Inn B&B.....well, they were not lying about the country part! This nice lady ushered us to our house....nobody else was there, so we had free reign....how nice it was to be in a house! Then she brought over this fantastic breakfast...i would say the best breakfast we have had on the trip....some omelet concoction with BACON and a giant slice of coffee cake ....chris kept trying to steal my cake....he has quite the sweet tooth...I, on the other hand, am sweet enough as it is.
Then I went to the main building to pay, and well, it was some kind of church with a huge kitchen and 2 old ladies a singin and a cookin up a storm. They gave us some Jesus coffee....Jesus was it bitter!
We decided to take the scenic route to Denali National Park by heading down the Denali Highway....we have now discovered that “scenic” must mean dirt road in some other language.
scenic: dirt road with lots of potholes and a washboard -like surface that is never driven down, therefore is deemed “scenic”.
not really...it was not so bad, and the scenery was really nice...but we were happy to hit the pavement.
and here we are Miss Sunniebee. Denali.
The Denali has reached Denali !!!!!!
4,938.5 miles, and we are here....in one piece....we have refrained from killing one another (but still have a ways to go)....and wine is cheap again!!!! yeah. [the denali np store is the cheapest store in alaska.]
So far the bear count is 11. That is, we have seen 11 bears on the side of the road (4 of those were cubbies).
So we pull up to the information center to get our camp spot for the night, and lo and behold....there were 2 more Texas plates in the parking lot. One was a mini cooper packed to the brim with crap. Me and Chris looked at one another and said.... heeeeell no..... that would have been us in my car.... thanks again mom! (although their trip is probably costing them half what it is costing us)...oh well....this is livin.
Chris decided to call ahead again early that morning to see which campsites were open in the park, and once again we lucked out and got a slot at Wonder Lake. (sometimes it pays to be a planner) [we really lucked out on that one...usually it requires a 6 month advance booking to reserve a spot there..]It is a nice campsite at the end of the road in Denali next to the lake, and if you are really lucky, you might get that amazing shot of Mt. McKinley with its reflection on the lake. (We were not that lucky) We woke every morning at 5:30 am , but did not get lucky enough for the reflection shot.
But lucky enough to see 2 momma grizzlies, 3 baby grizzlies, 1 golden eagle, 1 giant male moose, 1 caribou, 1 wolf (alpha), 2 red foxes, one beaver working away on his dam, and the freaking cutest thing ever.....a weasel. I dont know if you guys have ever seen a weasel, but oh my god, it was really THE cutest thing ever....look it up...short tailed red weasel....apparently they turn white, like so many animals here, in the winter.
We lucked out on the bus ride to the campsite and got Mona as our driver....she was awesome. We have decided that Denali is our favorite national park ever. Everyone (except this one cranky old smokin bus driver) was super nice. [and totally informed and enthusiastic about the park]
The crazy thing about Denali is that there are only about 4 trails in the park, and is therefore referred to as a trail-less park. Which means that you can just go off trampling wherever you like. In fact, they ask that you do not walk in a line....walk side by side, so that you do not create a trail.....Chris was really happy about this since he does not have to walk in front anymore. Then I thought on it a little more....hum, no trails....that means you need a topographical map and have to navigate your way around so as not to get lost in the wilderness with all of the grizzly bears and wolves and moose.....hum......navigate.....hum.....yeah, I don't think we are going hiking Chris....he happily concurred.
As most of you know, Cori and Directions don't really know one another very well, in fact, we are complete strangers. Then i thought of all those times me and my dad went tramping through colorado parks without trails and he would make me turn around and tell him how to get back to camp....but nahhhh....not this time.....not without the ol GPS. [Cori + City boy Chris on a hike with no trail equals a disgruntled rescue team in t-3 days.]
So the bus ride was stunning.... “the light is just amazing on those mountains” says Chris....so I made the bus driver pull over (as I have done 1,000 times so far) [she is thankfully exceptionally patient.] so that Chris could get a photo....which of course means that I am entitled to a print now......ha.
And then we rounded the mountain, and we saw her.....peaking out of the clouds....Mamma McKinley, or Denali....meaning “the great one” in native Athabaskan tongue.
What a sight she is....20,320 ft. So we are now in the 30% club....only 30% of people coming to the park actually get to see her....she sleeps a lot under a blanket of clouds, but she was alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic this day. [30% is actually counting 24 hours out of every day...so apparently we are actually in the 10% club.]
There are so many mountains in Alaska that they don't name them all....too much paperwork i guess.
Lazy alaskans. [Most of the mountains surrounding Denali actually have no names!]
So camping at Wonder lake was pretty good....you know, we got to know the Alaskan state bird really well.....so well that Chris decided to write an Ode to it....here it is.
An Ode to the MOSQUITO:
needle piercing skin
all the blood therein
divine nectar of red
come and get thee fed
fly away your short days
between those with flesh
come and get your blood filled craze
after we leave our mesh
25 types of vampire
25 ways of crushing your empire
a fist, a hand,
a foot against the land
fly fly away quick
to a hidden place unmanned
for the ambrosia of sweet life
will overpower your fear of strife
although you come from the world
of pleasure and pain
that sweet sweet drug
will bring you back again
you risk all for living full
and with your multitude
you solidify your rule
through pestilence oh so cruel
one the precipice of death you hover
until my hand you discover
falls faster than you can find
your ever elusive cover
perhaps this is the life you choose
perhaps life has made the choice instead
either way,
i wish you were dead.
(but thanks for the fish, and the blueberries..ah balance)
Those damn things were ruthless....they bit me on the palm of my hand....the palm...and behind the ears...and on top of the head...on my scalp. I hate them!!!!!!!!! Thank god my dad bought me a mosquito head net years back.....I really never thought i would wear that thing, but it was absolutely necessary.
So Denali was everything we had hoped for and more...the more being a weasel....and about 50 mosquito bites. buggers...for real.
Just imagine a grand valley, whimsical mountains, meandering streams, and a lotta wildlife. a lotta.
Its pretty much fantastic...but I guess they say a picture is worth a thousand words.....
Bye Denali.....you were fantastico.
Talkeetna is a small sort of hippy town, well, filled with hippy type. We had an amazing breakfast at the Roadhouse (make sure to only order a half plate here folks), and it was on to our flight.
Captain Paul. What a good guy. The forecast was partially cloudy, but we went anyways. Flying, flying, flying along. where cars look like ants and everything is but a mere pattern down below.
[We began over the plains approaching the park, rivers and streams carved out by glaciation thousands of years ago. as we flew, the foothills outside of the windows slowly gained elevation, brandishing their barren rock, and hinting at the deep snows that continue to linger within the deep mountains. the abrupt change in landscape quickly became apparent once we passed into the southeast boundary of the park. as we passed the foothills, the landscape quickly changed. lakes, rivers and streams transformed into their former selves, ancient glaciers.
frigid cold, relentlessly pushing moraine down into the valleys below the glaciers push and pull the landscape as they slowly flow. the clouds obscured the high peaks and the sun occasionally revealed glimpses into the heart of the park. in these moments, we were able to see the seemingly endless mountain terrain, seemingly impenetrable except by plane, we were broaching an unknown territory...airborne and instantly miniscule. it was humbling and astounding.
as we climbed altitude and began to take note of the massive peaks surrounding us on either side of the plane, cori and i exchanged ecstatic glances. we were giddy, and smiling as both of us had rarely experienced an opportunity to see this raw landscape in such a unique way. both of us were overwhelmed and impressed.
And then i saw It.
Denali, the high one, came into view. clear as a bell through a din of noise, all else was put to rest beneath it.
Standing at over 20,300 feet, i had to tilt my head 45 degrees upwards, high above the surrounding mountains to view the summit. the apex was encircled by a wisp of a cloud that submitted to the height of the mountain. excitedly, i motioned to cori to look up and out the cockpit window in hopes that she could she what i was seeing. she did. her face lit up into a smile of amazement. it was a truly one of kind experience, and i'm thankful to have had it.]
Glacier landing what what?
We skied in the plane down a glacier...how cool is that? The plane had skis.....and we landed on a glacier. [so cool yep.] There was this guy from Cabo, mexico on the plane with us that had never before seen snow. And it was snowing up there.....he was in heaven....I made him make a snowball before we had to board again.
It was an amazing flight....here is a little clip i took.....
Then we were invited to the annual fiesta that Talkeetna Air Taxi (the company we went with) was throwing down that night. Whiskey Tango. Naturally it was a country theme....we felt right at home with all of the cowboy hats and chili....ummm chili. [cori wishes it was chile though.] did i mention free beer? yeah.....we stuck around for a while.....and met several people from Texas who have migrated there....basically I think a good portion of Texans have moved to Alaska...we keep meeting them...everywhere....and it is a little like Texas here....you know minus the mountains and sea life and green....a little like home.
And we also met the funniest guy in the world. Those new yorkers, you gotta love them. We got an ab workout that night. And saw our captain dressed in a full mariachi garb....he looked just like chevy chase from the 3 amigos....hilarious.
OH Talkeetna....good stuff.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
SunnieBee
And the Yukon has landed....In the Yukon. Yukon Territory, Canadia. You are home SunnieBee. Did I ever mention that we named the car SunnieBee? Short for Sunshine Bear....way back in Santa Fe Chris won a miniature sunshine bear care-bear out of a little vending machine....he is our little mascot that lives on the dash. And I swear, sunny does his job....we say “shine on sunny,” and out comes the sun. its fantastic....our little bear bear. [It is an uncanny power, cartoonish, in fact.]
So back to Canada
“How do you spell Canada?” “C eh N eh D eh”
They even refer to their national team as the “Eh team”
OH Canada....
We decided to wiki the word Eh....and here is what we found:
The only usage of eh? that is exclusive to Canada, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is for "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed" as in, "It's four kilometres away, eh, so I have to go by bike." In that case, eh? is used to confirm the attention of the listener and to invite a supportive noise such as "Mm" or "Oh" or "Okay". It essentially is an interjection meaning, "I'm checking to see you're listening so I can continue."
"Eh" can also be added to the end of a declarative sentence to turn it into a question. For example: "The weather is nice." becomes "The weather is nice, eh?" This same phrase could also be taken as "The weather is nice, don't you agree?".
Depending on the speaker's tone or the dialectal standard, eh can also be perceived as rude or impolite, as "Repeat that!", and not a request.
Further examples of Canadian usage include: "I know, eh?" (Agreement), "Yeah, eh?" (Agreement; tone of voice changes meaning slightly). "I know. Eh!" (Pause between 'know' and 'eh' and emphasise 'eh'. This is an excited agreement.) Although technically questions, these are also said as statements.
The usage of "eh" in Canada is occasionally mocked in the United States, where some view its use - along with aboot, an approximation of a Canadian raising-affected pronunciation of about - as a stereotypical Canadianism.
Funny.
Anyways....
Back to the Yukon. Our next leg of the journey was from Watson Lake on up to Dawson City.
A night of Camping in Whitehorse. Cute little campground. Me and chris were perfecting our salsa, and the old couple next to us insisted that we take their radio (from the 1970's)...while not exactly salsa music, it was a nice gesture. Campground camaraderie....gotta love it.
And they made sure to tell us all about their trip through the top of the world highway (where we are headed) and to make sure that we stop in Chicken, Alaska. Okay, great...will do, thanks.
They were about the 3rd set of RVers that have said the same thing....go to Chicken...must be a cool place, that Chicken.
And how many times can two people cross the continental divide really? Its ridiculous. It must be divided into hundreds of little pieces.
The road up to Dawson City was not as bad as we had anticipated, but creepy, it was.
There were just piles and piles, and piles of dead trees all piled up. And there was smoke. Everywhere. And there was this car full of drunk boys that tried to mess with Chris while i used the potty at a rest stop. Kids these days, I tell ya. [Seriously, drunk...leaving the gas station with 2 bags of ice for their leftover beers.]
And then the epitome of strange days, or daze.....Dawson City. want to talk about creepy.
There was this music festival going on....basically a town full of drunken mad youngans. So much aggression filled the air. It is an old mining town that really has not changed since the late 1800's.
Dirty...literally. Dirt roads and all. Drunken people lined the streets. We were told by these nice guys to make sure to go to this one bar, and this one casino that had has a show...Diamond Tooth Gerties.
They also told us that if we slept in the car to make sure to leave the keys outside the car or you can be charged with a DUI....hum. [Put the keys in your gas cap area they say!]
And after being harassed by a few boys walking down the street, we decided to duck into the bar. I think it was my favorite bar ever. Dark, Red, Old, Dank, really Dank, and The Barnacle was playing the piano. I love barnacles...except when you get hit in the head by a wild buoy covered in them that knocks your mask off and punctures your skull while surfacing in 10 foot waves in the middle of nowhere....buts that is another story. I once saw a barnacle the size of a grapefruit that was scraped off a turtle. crazy.
but The Barnacle was this old pirate that played the piano and sang some tunes in his pirate voice.....He was amazing. Barnarific.
Hey, did you guys hear about the new pirate movie coming out?
Its rated RRRRRRRRRRRR. Get it? rrrrrrrrrrr matie.
Then, as we were sitting there drinking some of Canada's fine brew (their beer sucks) the boys from the road walk in. Great. I look over at Chris and we begin to devise a plan of how we are going to whop their booties if they try to mess with us. I was going to take the short one down with a beer bottle to the head, and Chris was going to take on the other 5 with his kung-fu ninja moves. We were prepared.
They were drunk as drunk can be, loud, obnoxious, etc....so we decided to blow the joint, but we had to walk past them to get out. Here we go....almost out the door....and out the door..... and “Hey, Denali!, Hey, Hey, Denali!” Of course I knew they were talking to us. I turn to look, and one stumbles out.... “Hey, is your name Denali?” [He nearly fell over the bouncer to get to Cori...so drunk. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, great...kung fu time.] Uh, yeah dude, how did you guess? Dumbass. Then a slightly older sober fellow rushes outside and shews this guy back into the bar. He then begins to explain that they are all military boys (He is the commanding officer for all of these belligerent cadets).....he apologizes for their behavior explaining that they don't get out much, and therefore don't really know how to act in public quite yet. Great. Canada's finest. Ha. [Really, thank God that dude walked out, it would have been kung fu kane (me) meets canada, eh!.]
Onto the show at Gerties. Really, we dont think this place has changed much in the last 100 years. And honey, it ant over until the fat lady sings, no ma'am. She was pretty good actually. But what the show mainly consisted of were 4 scantily clad young ladies shaking their tails. Of course it did.
After all, what would a gambling town be without alcohol, money, and half naked ladies.
We slept in the car....it was pretty nice actually....just really really bright. They sky remained at around a normal 5pm sunshine for the remainder of the night. Strange. But pretty cool since you don't have to worry about having a flashlight. You can read a book at 4 in the morning if you like.
At breakfast the next day, chris persuaded this poor old lady to have her photo taken. He is in love with her....stares at her photo all the time. sick. [i can be self-demeaning at times, and that photo makes me feel like a care bear inside. a sunny one.]
We stayed to catch one chick sing a bluegrass song about a dog that died on the mountainside, and then i went and chatted with this local goldsmith ....so unfair....she just goes out and pans for gold, and brings it back and makes stuff out of it....give me some!!!! And then, we were out. Oh, and I finally found a 1979 penny that morning as we were cleaning out the car....it made me happy. finally.
[that was kinda weird.]
Top Of The World, here we come, ready or not.
IT was fantastic. Really, it did feel like we were on top of the world. The whole area around there had been devastated by a fire a year or so ago, and you know what that means.....FIREWEED!!!!
These crazy flowers (Epilobium angustifolium), ingested by the natives for its high vitamin C and A content, and used to get the pus out of wounds. (Happy Kari?, that was for you!!!)
Pink mountains folks, think pink mountains. and you are driving on top of them. niieeece.
Im on top of the woooorrrlllldddd! okay.
Out with the old and on with the new kinda thing. Old growth down, new growth movin on in.
So back to Canada
“How do you spell Canada?” “C eh N eh D eh”
They even refer to their national team as the “Eh team”
OH Canada....
We decided to wiki the word Eh....and here is what we found:
The only usage of eh? that is exclusive to Canada, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is for "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed" as in, "It's four kilometres away, eh, so I have to go by bike." In that case, eh? is used to confirm the attention of the listener and to invite a supportive noise such as "Mm" or "Oh" or "Okay". It essentially is an interjection meaning, "I'm checking to see you're listening so I can continue."
"Eh" can also be added to the end of a declarative sentence to turn it into a question. For example: "The weather is nice." becomes "The weather is nice, eh?" This same phrase could also be taken as "The weather is nice, don't you agree?".
Depending on the speaker's tone or the dialectal standard, eh can also be perceived as rude or impolite, as "Repeat that!", and not a request.
Further examples of Canadian usage include: "I know, eh?" (Agreement), "Yeah, eh?" (Agreement; tone of voice changes meaning slightly). "I know. Eh!" (Pause between 'know' and 'eh' and emphasise 'eh'. This is an excited agreement.) Although technically questions, these are also said as statements.
The usage of "eh" in Canada is occasionally mocked in the United States, where some view its use - along with aboot, an approximation of a Canadian raising-affected pronunciation of about - as a stereotypical Canadianism.
Funny.
Anyways....
Back to the Yukon. Our next leg of the journey was from Watson Lake on up to Dawson City.
A night of Camping in Whitehorse. Cute little campground. Me and chris were perfecting our salsa, and the old couple next to us insisted that we take their radio (from the 1970's)...while not exactly salsa music, it was a nice gesture. Campground camaraderie....gotta love it.
And they made sure to tell us all about their trip through the top of the world highway (where we are headed) and to make sure that we stop in Chicken, Alaska. Okay, great...will do, thanks.
They were about the 3rd set of RVers that have said the same thing....go to Chicken...must be a cool place, that Chicken.
And how many times can two people cross the continental divide really? Its ridiculous. It must be divided into hundreds of little pieces.
The road up to Dawson City was not as bad as we had anticipated, but creepy, it was.
There were just piles and piles, and piles of dead trees all piled up. And there was smoke. Everywhere. And there was this car full of drunk boys that tried to mess with Chris while i used the potty at a rest stop. Kids these days, I tell ya. [Seriously, drunk...leaving the gas station with 2 bags of ice for their leftover beers.]
And then the epitome of strange days, or daze.....Dawson City. want to talk about creepy.
There was this music festival going on....basically a town full of drunken mad youngans. So much aggression filled the air. It is an old mining town that really has not changed since the late 1800's.
Dirty...literally. Dirt roads and all. Drunken people lined the streets. We were told by these nice guys to make sure to go to this one bar, and this one casino that had has a show...Diamond Tooth Gerties.
They also told us that if we slept in the car to make sure to leave the keys outside the car or you can be charged with a DUI....hum. [Put the keys in your gas cap area they say!]
And after being harassed by a few boys walking down the street, we decided to duck into the bar. I think it was my favorite bar ever. Dark, Red, Old, Dank, really Dank, and The Barnacle was playing the piano. I love barnacles...except when you get hit in the head by a wild buoy covered in them that knocks your mask off and punctures your skull while surfacing in 10 foot waves in the middle of nowhere....buts that is another story. I once saw a barnacle the size of a grapefruit that was scraped off a turtle. crazy.
but The Barnacle was this old pirate that played the piano and sang some tunes in his pirate voice.....He was amazing. Barnarific.
Hey, did you guys hear about the new pirate movie coming out?
Its rated RRRRRRRRRRRR. Get it? rrrrrrrrrrr matie.
Then, as we were sitting there drinking some of Canada's fine brew (their beer sucks) the boys from the road walk in. Great. I look over at Chris and we begin to devise a plan of how we are going to whop their booties if they try to mess with us. I was going to take the short one down with a beer bottle to the head, and Chris was going to take on the other 5 with his kung-fu ninja moves. We were prepared.
They were drunk as drunk can be, loud, obnoxious, etc....so we decided to blow the joint, but we had to walk past them to get out. Here we go....almost out the door....and out the door..... and “Hey, Denali!, Hey, Hey, Denali!” Of course I knew they were talking to us. I turn to look, and one stumbles out.... “Hey, is your name Denali?” [He nearly fell over the bouncer to get to Cori...so drunk. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, great...kung fu time.] Uh, yeah dude, how did you guess? Dumbass. Then a slightly older sober fellow rushes outside and shews this guy back into the bar. He then begins to explain that they are all military boys (He is the commanding officer for all of these belligerent cadets).....he apologizes for their behavior explaining that they don't get out much, and therefore don't really know how to act in public quite yet. Great. Canada's finest. Ha. [Really, thank God that dude walked out, it would have been kung fu kane (me) meets canada, eh!.]
Onto the show at Gerties. Really, we dont think this place has changed much in the last 100 years. And honey, it ant over until the fat lady sings, no ma'am. She was pretty good actually. But what the show mainly consisted of were 4 scantily clad young ladies shaking their tails. Of course it did.
After all, what would a gambling town be without alcohol, money, and half naked ladies.
We slept in the car....it was pretty nice actually....just really really bright. They sky remained at around a normal 5pm sunshine for the remainder of the night. Strange. But pretty cool since you don't have to worry about having a flashlight. You can read a book at 4 in the morning if you like.
At breakfast the next day, chris persuaded this poor old lady to have her photo taken. He is in love with her....stares at her photo all the time. sick. [i can be self-demeaning at times, and that photo makes me feel like a care bear inside. a sunny one.]
We stayed to catch one chick sing a bluegrass song about a dog that died on the mountainside, and then i went and chatted with this local goldsmith ....so unfair....she just goes out and pans for gold, and brings it back and makes stuff out of it....give me some!!!! And then, we were out. Oh, and I finally found a 1979 penny that morning as we were cleaning out the car....it made me happy. finally.
[that was kinda weird.]
Top Of The World, here we come, ready or not.
IT was fantastic. Really, it did feel like we were on top of the world. The whole area around there had been devastated by a fire a year or so ago, and you know what that means.....FIREWEED!!!!
These crazy flowers (Epilobium angustifolium), ingested by the natives for its high vitamin C and A content, and used to get the pus out of wounds. (Happy Kari?, that was for you!!!)
Pink mountains folks, think pink mountains. and you are driving on top of them. niieeece.
Im on top of the woooorrrlllldddd! okay.
Out with the old and on with the new kinda thing. Old growth down, new growth movin on in.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
If Al-Can, we Can too!!!
Mile Zero.
Today me and Chris have been traveling for exactly one month....happy one month Chris!, (and its my mom's birthday (happy birthday ma, you don't look a day over 65!)) [One Month to the Day on Mile Zero! Love it!]
And here we are....one month on the road and we are back at mile zero. Mile zero of the AlCan highway. We can practically smell alaska now......only like 1300 more miles to go.
And we are at Dawson's Creek [actually Dawson...she just likes the show]....he he.....you know you use to watch it. The campers next to us (in an RV mind you) later asked me and chris if it was our first time setting up my tent....really?...do we look that pathetic....it was obviously because I am still having to order chris around and tell him what to do....he does not quite have the “cori routine” down yet.....gosh, making us look bad. really? did they really ask us that? it kinda pissed me off deep down inside. they were a lovely couple though...minus their unruly comments. [the cori routine is randomized. that is why we love the cori.]
Woke to a beautiful sunrise....then went back to sleep of course.
“Cruising on along.....the Alaskan Highway”.... Chris keeps singing that...right before he let out a big fart....we had chili last night....gross. [heh....like her farts don't stink. ahhhh the comfort that the road creates. at least i have the decency to refrain from farting inside a two-person, 6x8' tent. at night. with no airflow. after not pooing for two days....use your imagination for that smell. now that, my friends, is gross.] (( that is just not true...the only smells this body omits are of sweet ginger and lilacs )) and he does fart in the tent....a lot.
Now I want you to sit for a minute and imagine the brightest, most yellow, yellow that you can....then imagine it sprayed over the ground for miles and miles, next to fields of green, and a blue, blue sky.
Nice right? It makes me happy. It is some sort of crop that they plant up here...I still have not figured out what, but it is freakin gorge-a-mus.
ooh, and we saw a Giant Beaver and a Giant timber Man. I love all things giant.
Right after the giant man on the side of the road, was the decapitated elk....I guess someone ran him over on “accident” and cut his head right off.....trophy....I don't get it.....all those fools who kill just so they can have heads mounted on the walls...just so they can have giant elk heads mounted on the walls....i'm not talking about anyone in particular....hum, um.
endless trees. [really, endless endless sea of tree that begins on the side of the road and extends beyond site over hills, throughout the valleys, and up the mountainsides.]
which of course leads to huge lumber mills....stacks and stacks and stacks of logs. a tree plant. plant trees. [it seems as though the government here has tight control on things, so hopefully it is done in a sustainable fashion.]
also saw a coal plant....i guess you cant plant coal.
Sasquatch Crossing...., yes, Sasquatch. We needed a urination station, so we stopped at this tiny place and the really nice man behind the counter gave us 2 free cookies (because he could not figure out how to use the card machine)....now that is a nice Canadian....he let us pee and gave us cookies... yall come back now...ya hear?
Baby bears ....twins....a dor able.
Baby buffalo
baby moose....i gotta say, these last 2, just not so cute.
and a little red fox.
[and a caribou that ran along side our car for about 5 seconds]
After becoming a bit concerned that we were not going to find a place to stay the night, we finally made it to Liard hot springs. Yumi chan....you were soooo right! [we totally lucked out! rolled into camp at like 10:00pm and the host allowed us to stay in the overflow parking lot!] That was the coolest place ever! We arrived at 10pm...but still had an hour and a half before sunset to soak it up. Did i mention its like fern gully with a warm bath smack down in the center....and you know how i love the ferns......pretty much my idea of heaven. thanks again Yums.
then we passed the “Milepost” site in Watson Lake. Basically, if you come up the AlCan, remember to rip off some sort of sign that symbolizes you....like Austin, population: too many Californians.
[Basically, this segment of the trip has been lots of driving, so the pics have mostly been from the car/side of the road shots...here is what the camera yielded over these miles.]
[Rain Window]
[River Delta]
[Destino No Se]
[Big Rocks]
[Wipers]
[Me]
Today me and Chris have been traveling for exactly one month....happy one month Chris!, (and its my mom's birthday (happy birthday ma, you don't look a day over 65!)) [One Month to the Day on Mile Zero! Love it!]
And here we are....one month on the road and we are back at mile zero. Mile zero of the AlCan highway. We can practically smell alaska now......only like 1300 more miles to go.
And we are at Dawson's Creek [actually Dawson...she just likes the show]....he he.....you know you use to watch it. The campers next to us (in an RV mind you) later asked me and chris if it was our first time setting up my tent....really?...do we look that pathetic....it was obviously because I am still having to order chris around and tell him what to do....he does not quite have the “cori routine” down yet.....gosh, making us look bad. really? did they really ask us that? it kinda pissed me off deep down inside. they were a lovely couple though...minus their unruly comments. [the cori routine is randomized. that is why we love the cori.]
Woke to a beautiful sunrise....then went back to sleep of course.
“Cruising on along.....the Alaskan Highway”.... Chris keeps singing that...right before he let out a big fart....we had chili last night....gross. [heh....like her farts don't stink. ahhhh the comfort that the road creates. at least i have the decency to refrain from farting inside a two-person, 6x8' tent. at night. with no airflow. after not pooing for two days....use your imagination for that smell. now that, my friends, is gross.] (( that is just not true...the only smells this body omits are of sweet ginger and lilacs )) and he does fart in the tent....a lot.
Now I want you to sit for a minute and imagine the brightest, most yellow, yellow that you can....then imagine it sprayed over the ground for miles and miles, next to fields of green, and a blue, blue sky.
Nice right? It makes me happy. It is some sort of crop that they plant up here...I still have not figured out what, but it is freakin gorge-a-mus.
ooh, and we saw a Giant Beaver and a Giant timber Man. I love all things giant.
Right after the giant man on the side of the road, was the decapitated elk....I guess someone ran him over on “accident” and cut his head right off.....trophy....I don't get it.....all those fools who kill just so they can have heads mounted on the walls...just so they can have giant elk heads mounted on the walls....i'm not talking about anyone in particular....hum, um.
endless trees. [really, endless endless sea of tree that begins on the side of the road and extends beyond site over hills, throughout the valleys, and up the mountainsides.]
which of course leads to huge lumber mills....stacks and stacks and stacks of logs. a tree plant. plant trees. [it seems as though the government here has tight control on things, so hopefully it is done in a sustainable fashion.]
also saw a coal plant....i guess you cant plant coal.
Sasquatch Crossing...., yes, Sasquatch. We needed a urination station, so we stopped at this tiny place and the really nice man behind the counter gave us 2 free cookies (because he could not figure out how to use the card machine)....now that is a nice Canadian....he let us pee and gave us cookies... yall come back now...ya hear?
Baby bears ....twins....a dor able.
Baby buffalo
baby moose....i gotta say, these last 2, just not so cute.
and a little red fox.
[and a caribou that ran along side our car for about 5 seconds]
After becoming a bit concerned that we were not going to find a place to stay the night, we finally made it to Liard hot springs. Yumi chan....you were soooo right! [we totally lucked out! rolled into camp at like 10:00pm and the host allowed us to stay in the overflow parking lot!] That was the coolest place ever! We arrived at 10pm...but still had an hour and a half before sunset to soak it up. Did i mention its like fern gully with a warm bath smack down in the center....and you know how i love the ferns......pretty much my idea of heaven. thanks again Yums.
then we passed the “Milepost” site in Watson Lake. Basically, if you come up the AlCan, remember to rip off some sort of sign that symbolizes you....like Austin, population: too many Californians.
[Basically, this segment of the trip has been lots of driving, so the pics have mostly been from the car/side of the road shots...here is what the camera yielded over these miles.]
[Rain Window]
[River Delta]
[Destino No Se]
[Big Rocks]
[Wipers]
[Me]
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