Fishing on the Kenai

Last Wednesday me and a buddy from work went fishing on the Lower Kenai River, down in a town called Soldotna. I bought a cheap fishing rod and some tackle at Sportsman's warehouse. I caught two sockeyes (red salmon), pretty decent size. I wasn't able to take pictures, as the section of the river wasn't conducive to taking any. So, here are some pics from online to give you an idea of what it looks like.

The Kenai River.

And about what it looked like on the river when fishing. Yes, lots of people. It was hard to find a spot, but it was nice since when you yelled "fish on!" there was always somebody nearby with a net to help out.

Hiking Days

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy. I'm nearing the end of a 24 day stretch where I've had 1 day off.

I've been trying to stay in shape on the road this season, so I've started taking up hiking when I get the chance. Two hikes I've done in the last few weeks were Sugarloaf Mountain in Denali, and Winner Creek Trail in Girdwood. The Sugarloaf trail I did with my friend Andy, a fellow tour director. It was a day after it rained in Denali, so the trail was a bit tricky, and the trail was pretty steep, but it was a great hike - it gave us some great views of the Nenana River Canyon.

The Winner Creek Trail was in Girdwood, and passed through rainforest, over creeks, bridges, and even a gorge with a handtram to get across.

The hand tram going across the gorge.

It had a nice drop into the river below.

On the train to Seward

Friday (June 11) I got to take the train from Anchorage down to Seward - easily the most beautiful rail leg of the Alaska Railroad. Check out the pictures I took.

Potter Marsh, just south of where I live.

We saw Dall Sheep in the Chugach Mountain Range! The little lambs were very active, jumping from rock to rock on their way up.

The Turnagain Arm, with the Kenai Mountains just behind it.

More of the Turnagain Arm.

The view from the back of the train. Up in the Chugach Mountains, there was still plenty of snow.

And coming out of the mountains into Chugach State Forest.

Crossing over a bridge over Kenai Lake.

A great view of Kenai Lake.

One of many tunnels we went through.

A great overlook of Resurrection Bay in Seward.

Having finished off the day yesterday, I went 11 days in a row without a day off. Today, I get my first one since I started the season, and I go again tomorrow. By the time it hits the 18th of the month, today will still have been my only day off. More to be posted.

Anchored In

The conclusion of the trip from Vegas to AK!

So, Saturday (May 29) I arrived in Anchorage. On my way in I stopped in Wasilla to eat lunch with my friend Carleen, who moved up from Vegas. She was unaware of the fact that I drove up from Vegas, so when I told her we should get lunch as I'd be passing through Palmer/Wasilla, she was confused (she thought I flew up the week before). I delivered something to her that her brother Jacob told me to give to her, then I made my way into Anchor-town.

After a quick stop at the office (where, since it was a Saturday evening, virtually nobody was there, so no warm welcomes or reunions or anything like that). After that, it was off to my house! I was given a contact for somebody who'd be having rooms available, so I went to check it out. Looks good to me.

The house

The front yard

More of the front yard

The side

The backyard

They have a hot tub (pictured above), front loader washer/dryer, internet access, plenty of yard space as you can see, lots of freezer space, and right by the highway, so it's not far from work at all. I definitely made out this season.

Things I've learned from being on the road for 10 days:

1) Skippy makes a mighty fine jar of peanut butter (Natural with honey)

2) 2 weeks is enough time for the last bits of snow to be melted/cleaned up so the roads looks even more beautiful than they did last year

3) Driving 800+ miles in one day will burn you out from driving

4) "Crazy Memorial Day" traffic in the Matanuska-Susitna River Valley area and Anchorage looks like a normal day in Vegas

5) The concept of "Morning Metallica" is genius

This concludes my trip from Las Vegas to Anchorage. I start training Monday, and an actual tour Tuesday. I'll keep posting from the road.

Tik-Tok (backlog 3)

I ended Friday (May 28) in the little town of Tok, AK. This day was my longest trek, driving 810 miles, from the Liard River Hot Springs. So, off my day began! Not five minutes out of the hot springs campground, what did I run into in the distance?

A buffalo crossing the road!

He took his time, but I and the other cars waited...due to it's massive massiveness.

And the others never took notice of the cars. I have to say buffalo have to be one of the dumbest animals I've seen.

So, while most of the road up to and through Canada was paved, in several instances the road was not paved, so you can see me kicking dust up behind me.

This dust was only slightly exaggerated by my very slight fish-tailing.

Of course, one of the places I had to stop and spend a bit of time in was at Watson Lake, up in the Yukon. Here lies one of nature's most fascinating phenomenon: Signpost Forest!

The entrance!

Ok, so it's not so natural. During the construction of the Alaskan-Canadian Military Highway, a signpost signifying the distance to Alaska was damaged by a bulldozer. The private who was ordered to fix it decided to personalize it by adding a sign pointing back to his hometown, and the forest has grown since.

There are now signs from everywhere, be it street signs, welcome to signs, whatever.

The forest literally goes on for acres and acres.

It's so big it now engulfs the actual forest that is/was there.

And if you look long enough, you'll find something from home!

I didn't have enough time to look at everything, but in just my short adventure, I did find some signs that reminded me of friends, be it in name, hometown, or mission areas.

Just a few people who I was thinking of.

Speaking of signs, I saw the best one ever when I was getting breakfast in Watson Lake.

I need one of these for the upcoming season.

So, continuing on, I began experiencing something many Alaskans are familiar with - frost heaves! There is frozen water in the ground up north. The areas where it water stays frozen is called permafrost, and more precisely, continuous permafrost. It's officially considered permafrost if the water stays frozen for more than 2 years. Now, there are areas called discontinuous permafrost, where some of the water will thaw out in the summer, and refreeze in the winter. We call it frost heaves when it distorts the roads and causes them to be uneven and unsteady. Here is what the ride looks like.

I did take it a little bit on the faster side to better illustrate what it feels like. Any faster than what I was doing and you can bottom out your vehicle. I don't recommend doing that.

And back in the US!

This concludes the Canadian portion of the journey

Backlog 2

Thursday May 27

I had a rude awakening to a bright daylight staring me in the eye...at 4:45 am. Convinced I wasn't going back to sleep in my incredibly oh-so-comfortable vehicle, I decided to begin my trip. I made two discoveries this morning. 1) While most all of the gas stations in Canada have you pump your gas first then go inside to pay, 7-11 works the same way as it does in the US - pay first. 2) Resce's hot chocolate tis a mighty fine way to kick start an early morning drive.

So, it was time to begin the trek on the World Famous Alaska Highway.

I arrived in Fort St. John around 6:30 or so in the morning, and decided it was a good time to get breakfast. Sadly, the only place open was McDonald's. However, my curiosity piqued, as I wondered if this was the same McDonald's that I ate at last year, that had nice chairs and a fireplace inside of it. Lo and behold, it was! I don't recall them ever having bagel sandwiches in the US, but it was the best McDonald's breakfast I've ever had (...which still isn't saying much).

I continued on my drive, and around lunch time I happened to arrive in the next town, Fort Nelson. I stopped at Canada's favorite sport's bar, Boston Pizza. I don't understand the name, as it's not even a chain that originated in Boston - the first one was established in Edmonton. I think Canadian's have a penchant for American sounding names (I keep seeing Nevada Bob's Golf Shop and Vegas Pizza Resteraunts everywhere). I ordered my favorite pizza (pepperoni and black olives). Safe to say, it was the best pizza I've ever had in Canada.

The journey along the highway.

I ended my day with a stay at the Liard River Hot Springs, where I camped out for the night. I'm the only one here without a camper, RV, or a tent, and the only one here with Nevada license plates. I went for a little hike to check out the area.

In order to make a trip of 27,000+ furlongs (or, if you prefer miles, 3500), one must have all the essentials in order to be able to sleep, eat, and maintain sanity along the open road. Fortunately, my vehicle was multi-functional:

My bed.

My office/entertainment center.

My dinner table.

My kitchen.