Glaciers--2 (or 26) If By Sea

We loved the Matanuska Glacier--however, it was a little grimy at the bottom. That was not the case for the Prince William Sound Glaciers we went to see. We went on a lunch cruise, and it was amazing. We had some rainy weather (not surprising--the get over 30 feet of snow in the winter--take that Cache Valley), but everything was misty and fabulous. The cruise took around 5 hours and we saw 26 glaciers during that time; we got within 1/4 mile of 3 glaciers.

DJ has always wanted to see a glacier chaffing (just teasing sweetheart! When we booked the cruise, he asked the phone attendant if we could see glaciers chaffing. She had a startled pause, and then responded--"Calving?") We definately saw, and heard, several. You'd hear a CRACK first of all, and then see snow and ice start to fall down the slope/into the ocean. I couldn't figure out Picasa well enough to get these in order, but we've got a 6-picture "this is how it happened" sequence. The amazing thing is that the icebergs are blue as well.

What's being out on the ocean without seeing wildlife. We were looking at a glacier, when the kids shouted out--"There's some seals!" Yes, harbor seal were laying on the ice. We also saw several sea otters floating along--I'd hate to be in that water!

Finally, here's a few other pictures from our tour--the kids all got to take a picture at the wheel of the ship (Josh even got to press the button to go 3 degrees starboard). We enjoyed the hot chocolate, and even had (virgin) margaritas made from glacier ice. What a great end to my trip! The next evening DJ dropped Reagan and I off at the airport --it was 54 degrees in Anchorage, and 118 degrees in Palm Springs. Sigh.....

Glaciers--1 If By Land

After our roadside adventures, we stopped at Matanuska Glacier (about 2 hours east of Anchorage). The thing is enormous--24 miles long and about 2 miles wide at its base. It takes about 250 years for the snow to move its way down, but when it does--wow! Talk about a ton of water being released. The Matanuska River is huge immediately below the glacier. We hiked it (obviously from the pictures), and at the beginning, I was picturing crevasses opening up and swallowing us whole--I had seen the original Transformers movie and did NOT want to meet up with Megatron. However, the owner of the property immediately below the glacier assured us that it was safe; because of the time of year and the density of the ice, he could drive his bulldozer on it. He then took us on a tour of the lower parts of the glacier--pointing out different formations and their causes (think lots of melting water). The bottom portion was covered in a very thin layer of silt and rock, but within 15 minutes of climbing we were standing on over 1000 feet of ice. One of my favorites is the glacial "erratics." That's any piece of debris/rock/etc., that the glacier picks up and move. There's a picture of Reagan on an erratic that moved several feet in the past week (the rock, not Reagan).

Of course the kids LOVED it. After we got pictures, DJ suggested that Josh lick the ice for a picture--that turned into a free-for all. I didn't participate--not too fond of the muddy ice concept, but the kids adored it. Every time I turned around someone was licking the ice. DJ even got a picture (which I've refused to post) that looks a little bit obscene (4 kids in a row licking ice? Yuck!) A little further in, there's a glacial-fed lake (on top of the glacier), that was absolutely stunning; I can't imagine how glorious it would be on a sunny day. And of course, the blue ice was to die for!

Alaska or BUST v 3.0 (3.1, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, 3.2)

It takes a hardy soul to live in Alaska. Or maybe, Alaskans know they should not go on 150 mile gravel roads in a minivan pulling a tent/trailer. WHATEVER. After Denali, we decided to go on the "Denali Highway", a 150 mile gravel road connecting the 2 sides of the state. After all, we could see more of Alaska that way. About 10 miles into it, we lost the tire on the van. Tre' had to help change that one, and he did a great job. We drove and drove and drove (at about 15-20 miles per hour). It truly was beautiful--you can see the pictures of the first true glaciers we could see in the distance--the things are huge! We stopped to camp for the night; I was convinced that a bear was going to eat us, so I made the girls, Josh, and I sleep in the van--and I didn't sleep. I kept peering around for bears. DJ popped up the trailer, and he and Tre' got a good nights sleep.

In the morning, the trailer tire was flat. OK--we could change a tire. DJ did that and we headed off. About 2 miles later, we heard a "KER-PLUNK. DRAGGG" We stopped immediately, and the tire had fallen off the trailer. We also lost the lug nuts and the cap for the axle on the trailer. Aargh--we tried to jimmy-rig it, but it just wasn't flying. Upon closer inspection, as the wheel fell off, it stripped the stems on the axle. A trucker stopped (yes, we do appreciate truckers), and suggested that we drop the trailer, and drive to find the parts that we needed. He also lent us a large steel mallet to drive out the posts, etc., and said we could leave it at a fishing lodge about 20 miles up the road. After that we looked at each other, dropped the trailer, and headed off to find our parts. 160 miles later (one way), we found the parts we thought we'd need--plus extra lug nuts! 160 miles back, and we looked at it. We had a variety of parts, and nothing worked just right. We looked at each other, said another prayer, and someone else stopped by 2 minutes later. He made a suggestion of combining the various parts to build a new ball/bearing part of the axle (gulp!), headed out, and we did it. We drove and drove and drove, and 10 feet from the end of the gravel road, we blew another tire (however, we knew that this spare had some sun damage, so it wasn't unexpected.) After we changed that one, we were done with the flats--hallelujah!

We got some fun wildlife pictures--I loved the ptarmigan family we saw--an adult poked his head up out of the grass on the side of the road, and then we saw the chicks. We've also included a picture of the porcupine that DJ chased trying to get a picture.

Denali

Isn't it gorgeous? Mt. McKinley didn't want to show itself completely, but we were able to piece together the entire thing from a bunch of smaller shots--it was looming. Made me feel like a hobbit going through the Misty Mountains to Smaug's lair. However, it sure wasn't Mt. Doom--way too cold!

We loved seeing everything--we took the 13 hour round trip shuttle bus ride through the park and back. Our driver was a mid-60s (young right, Mom and Dad?) who chatted and told stories about the park the entire time, while driving a VERY large school bus at relatively high speeds on narrow winding roads. She'd slam on the breaks if anyone saw wildlife--we thought she was awesome. We saw moose, caribou, and that wolf (which was hunting about 2 feet from the bus).

While in Denali, we saw their sled dogs--Madi loved that. As they harnessed up the dogs for their demonstration, the 2 lead dogs went wild with their desire to get on their way. Reminded me of a certain, oldest daughter of mine who ALWAYS loves to be at the front.
As parents, on a trip, we were morally obligated to take goofy pictures of our kids with museum exhibits. Tre' loved his "attack of the wolf", while Madi had to hug her bear. Reagan did the climbing up to the Dahl sheep, but Tre' peeked over the top just as we were taking the picture.

World Eskimo Olympics, North Pole, and FAMILY!!!

The nice thing about flying into Alaska in the summer from Palm Springs is the temperature drop--oh, was it fabulous. As we boarded the plane in Palm Springs, they gave the entire lecture of "do what you can to keep things cool in here." I landed in Fairbanks (after hitting San Francisco, then Seattle) to 72 degrees and beautiful. The Fairbankians (or whatever they call themselves) were complaining about the heat wave. I guess if your standard temperature for half the year is -40, you might complain about 72 degrees. My plane landed, I got off, got my luggage, and looked around. No family. I thought--maybe they're outside. No family. 15 minutes later, no family. Just then, Reagan left the building. Evidently, we missed each other by moments. We had dinner in the "northern most Denny's in the world" (pretty cool, eh?) and went to the World Eskimo Olympics.

My family knows me pretty well--I'm a rather anal-retentive sort of person; after all, I'm an accountant. Let's just say that the time schedule for the World Eskimo Olympics did not match my idea of "efficient" use of time. However, it was really cool. Thank goodness we missed the seal-skinning competition. I've included a picture of our favorite event--the one-leg Alaskan kick. It came from the days that the Eskimos would go whale hunting. When they needed extra people to help with the kill, they'd kick one foot high in the air to notify everyone to come out. Think the Karate Kid kick--the person has to kick off of one foot, with that same foot kick a ball approximately 9 feet in the air, and then land back on that foot. it was amazing. We also saw a dancing competition--the kids and DJ got into the free dance portion--it was very funny to see them doing the dances--Tre' loved it the most! DJ also helped in the toss--basically, 50 guys held a large stretched walrus skin "trampoline" and bounced someone in the air--like 20-30 feet in the air. He said the skin smelled.

I've also included pictures of the family that rescued the trekkers on the Dalton Highway. We went to church with them and then over to their house (which was built without plans, permits, etc.--true Alaskan spirits!) for dinner. We stayed in North Pole, AK, and so, of course, had to visit Santa's house. The girls pretended to be reindeer.

Alaska or BUST v 2.0

Hmm--it's strange how we're repeating titles. There truly is a reason for the "bust" part of the saying. DJ and kids made it up 494 miles along the gravel Dalton Highway, became honorary polar bears in the Arctic Ocean, and then 250 miles back. They fueled and then camped near Coldfoot, woke up in the morning, and the gas had leaked out. No problem, right? They're at the repair place along the road. HOWEVER..... The repairs that are done at Coldfoot are only tire repairs. Not fuel pumps, lines, or anything else. OK... We have AAA's 200 mile tow package. That should work, right? Not in this part of Alaska, it doesn't. After calling the towing place in Fairbanks, DJ found out that it would be $1700 and at least 3 days before the tow truck could make it there. I was flying into Fairbanks in 4 days. Not my idea of a fun time. DJ checked around, and all the trucks coming back from Prudhoe Bay had full loads. Wow--was this getting fun, or what? DJ and kids had a prayer, and he got the distinct impression, "Don't worry--someone's coming." OK--that's a good thing. However, as the hours passed, and passed, and passed, he was getting worried. The kids started wrestling in the car, Tre' cracked his head on the spare battery DJ was carrying, blood was running down his head, and then a truck pulled up and the trucker said, "Do you need some help?" Turns out, the trucker and his wife couldn't get a load, and came back; they loaded up the van, took the 2 oldest kids, and farmed DJ and the 2 younger ones out to another trucker they knew who was headed back. When the wife was talking to our kids, they talked about the school they want to go to (BYU), and the trucker & wife were Mormons. We went to church with them on the Sunday after I got to Alaska. Small world?

Here's some other pictures from the Prudhoe Bay adventure--I love that peak. It's so typical of the Alaskan mountains.

Have I Been Too Worried?

Both DJ and Tre' want me to tell you that I made it more scary than it sounds. However, to combat that impression, take a look at this (its not our picture, but I stole it off the wikipedia):

DJ was sleeping in the tent on the tundra right by the river outside of Prudhoe Bay. (Long nights driving, etc.). The kids were playing in front of the tent, and he kept hearing shouts of "Wolf!" However, in the tradition of the boy who cries wolf, he ignored it. Hmmm--in an area where polar bears, arctic grizzlies, and wolves roam, would you do that? When he came out, the 3 younger kids swore there was a pack of wolves watching them right across the river.

Would you say that it's time for me to get up there? Yeah--if I want to bring anyone home alive. I'm almost in the mood to leave DJ up there.