Lucy is on the road to Alaska

[nryn]

Originally Posted by Raminc

I've ridden the Alcan several times coming and going with no damage to my tv or camper.

I’m currently on my way to Denali, just a few steps behind Moosetags as I just landed in Fairbanks today. Yukon is currently the craziest part of the Alcan. While waiting to walk across the street in Whitehorse, I tallied cars driving by—18 of 21 had a visible crack or shattered windshield. It happens. Also saw quite a few cars with broken axles pushed to the side.

Heed Raminc’s caution—drive the posted limit, particularly in construction areas, and also keep some distance from trucks.

[AKNate]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

If you are out for breakfast in Anchorage you might look for the Snow Goose Restaurant on 3rd St. We went there a couple time because of the fresh bread and home made fresh strawberry jam. Yum!

Snow Goose closed and the location is now 49th State Brewing.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by AKNate

Snow Goose closed and the location is now 49th State Brewing.

Things change!

hope the beer is good

I noticed in an earlier post that Brian said there was a knife factory in the bridge. When I was there the Bridge Restaurant was in the bridge. Guess that's gone too.

[Raminc]

Originally Posted by nryn

I’m currently on my way to Denali, just a few steps behind Moosetags as I just landed in Fairbanks today. Yukon is currently the craziest part of the Alcan. While waiting to walk across the street in Whitehorse, I tallied cars driving by—18 of 21 had a visible crack or shattered windshield. It happens. Also saw quite a few cars with broken axles pushed to the side.

Heed Raminc’s caution—drive the posted limit, particularly in construction areas, and also keep some distance from trucks.

Welcome to Alaska nryn, thanks for your support . As a side note, as a state we are not required by law to change our windshields because of a crack or chip, because a lot of people live on dirt roads here and bring the small stones to the highways and biways in their tire treads. As a result a new windshield could get a crack the very day it is replaced. There is nothing more disappointing than to take a car off the showroom floor and get hit by a stone the very next day. As for the axles well we drove through those several mile long stretches of gravel in the Yukon and I always keep my speed at 55 even if the limit is 65. I'm of the opinion that if you want to go faster I'll pull over and let you pass. So in those gravel areas I'm glad to crawl through the holes and washboard because I don't want to ruin my tv or trailer. Now while your here in southcentral Alaska if there is anything I can help you with let me know.

Brian sorry for hijacking your thread. I didn't intend to.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

Things change!

hope the beer is good

I noticed in an earlier post that Brian said there was a knife factory in the bridge. When I was there the Bridge Restaurant was in the bridge. Guess that's gone too.

The Bridge Restaurant is still there. The Ulu Knife Factory is on the shore right next to the bridge.

Brian

[Hittenstiehl]

"The number of small aircraft in Anchorage is astounding. We have never seen so many small planes in one place in our lives. There are literally hundreds of small planes here. The small aircraft is more a part of everyday life in Alaska than anywhere else."

We too were amazed at number of small planes in Alaska. A guide told us (joking) there are more pilots licenses in Alaska than there are driver's licenses. They were amazing to watch as they crisscrossed the bays on our way for sightseeing, errands or into the bush.

[Gene]

On our trips north we saw various solutions to gravel damage, but we didn't do anything. We assumed that any long trip had the risk of windshield damage, but when we commuted from the mountains west of Denver to Denver years ago, gravel on I-70 meant a new windshield every year per vehicle. That's life in some places. The four rock guards on the front of the Airstream are for rocks, so we didn't add anything. I saw someone with Reflectix taped to the rock guards—I think that is a simple and cheap solution. Were used Reflectix inside to insulate windows and reduce sunshine in the bedroom and from the skylight.

I lost a set of Airstream keys near Talkeetna—I forgot to ask if you saw them.

Glad to see you saw the mountain. Despite living in a place famous for mountains, Denali is the biggest single mountain I've ever seen, maybe because it sort of sits out there looming over the rest of the Alaska Range.

Did you see the places in Anchorage where the earthquake in the 1960's dropped land 10 or more feet?

Gene

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp this morning in Anchorage and headed south. We made a stop along the way at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage. We were able to view a number of different Alaska animals there.

We arrived in Seward mid afternoon and got Lucy a very nice campsite with a view of Resurrection Bay. She is camped in the Seward City Park Campground. Today is the most beautiful day we have had since entering Alaska, no smoke from the fires and the clouds did not block the mountain views.

We got Lucy set up and headed out to do a little looking around town. Seward is also a cruise ship port of call and the streets were very busy with lots of people. We made a quick stop at the local Safe Way Supermarket and picked up some pulled rotisserie chicken for dinner.

We dined in style at Lucy's dinette table with the view of Resurrection Bay and the mountains in the background.

Tonight's pictures include:

- View along the Seward Highway.
- A porcupine at the Conservation Center.
- Elk grazing at the Conservation Center.
- A reindeer in the process of losing his winter coat.
- Black bear at the Conservation Center.
- Glaciers in the mountains.
- Mountain view along the Seward Highway.
- Lillian and Lucy getting set up at their campsite in Seward.
- View out of Lucy's back window.
- Resurrection Bay from the campground.

Brian

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Gene

On our trips north we saw various solutions to gravel damage, but we didn't do anything. We assumed that any long trip had the risk of windshield damage, but when we commuted from the mountains west of Denver to Denver years ago, gravel on I-70 meant a new windshield every year per vehicle. That's life in some places. The four rock guards on the front of the Airstream are for rocks, so we didn't add anything. I saw someone with Reflectix taped to the rock guards—I think that is a simple and cheap solution. Were used Reflectix inside to insulate windows and reduce sunshine in the bedroom and from the skylight.

I lost a set of Airstream keys near Talkeetna—I forgot to ask if you saw them.

Glad to see you saw the mountain. Despite living in a place famous for mountains, Denali is the biggest single mountain I've ever seen, maybe because it sort of sits out there looming over the rest of the Alaska Range.

Did you see the places in Anchorage where the earthquake in the 1960's dropped land 10 or more feet?

Gene

Hi Gene.

We have had a number of windshields broken on the road over the years, but it was always on a paved Interstate, never on an unpaved road.

We have not put any protection over Lucy's rock guards. We never had done that with Old Lucy either. To us, taping Reflectix to Lucy's rock guards is much more trouble than it's worth. The only Airstreams without any dings are those that have never been anywhere.

Denali is truly awe-inspiring. We sat in Lillian for a couple of hours just watching it. The mountain changes by the minute as the clouds go by. Of course, we come from a State where the highest point is 345' above sea level.

No, we did not makr it to the places in Anchorage where the land was displaced by the 1964 earth quake.

Brian

[SeaLevel]

Originally Posted by moosetags

We arrived in Seward mid afternoon and got Lucy a very nice campsite with a view of Resurrection Bay. She is camped in the Seward City Park Campground. Today is the most beautiful day we have had since entering Alaska, no smoke from the fires and the clouds did not block the mountain views.

Brian

Hi Brian,

We finally made it to Alaska a couple of days ago, but we took a different route than you guys did once in the state. We are currently in Valdez, and plan on heading towards Homer over the next week or so. It looks like the weather will include lots of rain in the Valdez, Seward, Homer areas over the next week or so. Are you seeing the same weather reports?

By the way, the road from Tok down to Glennallen was really bad. It was better from there down to Valdez, but there was still some construction causing delays.


Ken

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by SeaLevel

Hi Brian,

We finally made it to Alaska a couple of days ago, but we took a different route than you guys did once in the state. We are currently in Valdez, and plan on heading towards Homer over the next week or so. It looks like the weather will include lots of rain in the Valdez, Seward, Homer areas over the next week or so. Are you seeing the same weather reports?

By the way, the road from Tok down to Glennallen was really bad. It was better from there down to Valdez, but there was still some construction causing delays.


Ken

Hi Ken. Thanks for the info on the road from Tok to Glennallen. We do want to go to Valdez before we leave Alaska. We were thinking about taking the Richrdson Highway (Alaska 4) from Glennallen up to Delta Junction and head to Tok from there.

It is raining right now in Seward. The clouds have covered up the mountains across Resurrection Bay. We are sitting at Lucy's dinette looking out over the Bay and watching the rain come down. It's still a good day of Airstreaming. The long range forcast for Seward is showing Monday and Tuesday clear and the rain coming back on Wednesday.

If you end up camping in Anchorage, we would recommend aginst Creekwod. We stayed there for 3 nights. it was extremely tight and not very nice, plus the neighborhood it's in is not very good. We checked out the other Anchorage campgrounds while we were there. If we camp in Achorage again before heading back, we will try the Anchorage Ship Creek RV Park. It is in an industrial neighborhood not far out of Downtown Anchorage. The sites are ample in size with full hook-ups.

Brian

[nsbcpa]

If you like fried halibut don't overlook Thorn's Showcase Lounge in Seward.

Their "bucket of butt" was some of the best seafood we experienced in Alaska.

[moosetags]

If you like fried halibut don't overlook Thorn's Showcase Lounge in Seward.
Their "bucket of butt" was some of the best seafood we experienced in Alaska.


Thanks for the tip. We may try that tonight.

Also, the font you are using to post, makes it impossible to quote your text without an edit.

[steve46]

While it’s been a few years, we’ve stayed at the Ship Creek RV park (in a rented RV, not an Airstream) and recommend it. It’s within easy walking distance of downtown Anchorage, has nice staff and the sites are large—we’d stay there again.
Since it appears that you like good pizza and good beer, make sure you consider Moose’s Tooth in Anchorage for both—some of the best pizza we’ve ever had.
Have fun, we’re enjoying following your journey!

[SeaLevel]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Hi Ken. Thanks for the info on the road from Tok to Glennallen. We do want to go to Valdez before we leave Alaska. We were thinking about taking the Richrdson Highway (Alaska 4) from Glennallen up to Delta Junction and head to Tok from there.

It is raining right now in Seward. The clouds have covered up the mountains across Resurrection Bay. We are sitting at Lucy's dinette looking out over the Bay and watching the rain come down. It's still a good day of Airstreaming. The long range forcast for Seward is showing Monday and Tuesday clear and the rain coming back on Wednesday.

If you end up camping in Anchorage, we would recommend aginst Creekwod. We stayed there for 3 nights. it was extremely tight and not very nice, plus the neighborhood it's in is not very good. We checked out the other Anchorage campgrounds while we were there. If we camp in Achorage again before heading back, we will try the Anchorage Ship Creek RV Park. It is in an industrial neighborhood not far out of Downtown Anchorage. The sites are ample in size with full hook-ups.

Brian

Thanks Brian. We do want to stop near Anchorage for a Costco stop, so thanks for the advice on campgrounds. We are at Bear Paw RV Park in Valdez, and while it's just a parking lot with camping slots, it works for a short stay. It's near The Fat Mermaid, which we enjoyed for dinner yesterday. You can also walk down by the harbor and check that out. Hopefully the road from Glennallen to Delta Junction is better than Alaska 1 to Tok. We plan to stop for a couple nights between Glennallen and Palmer, and then we may head down to Homer before stopping in Seward on the way back north. We have some time before working our way to Denali for our reservations at the Teklanika and Riley campgrounds.

Ken

[moosetags]

It pretty much rained all day here in Seward, Alaska. We sat at Lucy's table and watched the rain fall on Resurrection Bay. The mountains across the Bay disappeared in the fog. We spent the morning playing on the Internet and enjoying the ambiance of the campground.

This afternoon we struck out and visited two different hardware stores to look for parts for a couple of small projects in Lucy. After we were done, we headed over to Thorn's Showcase Lounge on 4th Avenue in Seward. Another Airstreamer had highly recommended this place for a "Bucket of Butt" as some of the best seafood in Alaska. The bucket consists of 2 ounce chunks of
fresh-caught Halibut fried to perfection. We shared the small bucket of ten pieces. It was plenty for both of us. It was most excellent, and the beer was very good also.

We returned to Lucy in time to see the cruise ship that was in port back out from its dock into the Bay and turn around right in front of the campground. It was just another great day on our Alaska vacation.

Tonight's pictures include:

- The Lowell Creek Waterfall just south of Downtown Seward.
- The 1916 Van Gilder Hotel in Downtown Seward.
- Tsunami warning horns in Downtown Seward.
- Mountain overlooking Seward.
- Waterfall up on the mountain.
- Looking south along 4th Avenue, the main commercial street in Seward.
- The Brown & Hawkins Store on 4th Avenue in Seward has been at this location since 1904.
- Thorn's Showcase Lounge where we had dinner has been here since 1962.
- The Celebrity Millennium from Lucy's back window as she starts her turn.
- The ship was really close to the campground.

Brian

[Tincampers]

Are you going out on a sight seeing boat? That was the highlight of our trip to AK.

[nerka3]

It is really interesting to learn what the 1964 Earthquake did to all of the communities you have been to and are going to. The quake was on Good Friday, March 27, 1964 and was 9.2 magnitude. Seward was hit with a huge tsunami and the Standard Oil tanks at the water’s edge blew up and a lot of the town burned. Three blocks of the town fell into the bay. I lived there in 1980 and there was still a railroad car up against the mountain where the tsunami left it. Valdez was hit worse. They had to rebuild the whole town at a new site since the tsunami and quake made the old townsite unstable. There was video footage from a ship being loaded at the Valdez dock showing water leaving the bay and then the tsunami coming back. Very scary. Hard to believe it lasted almost 5 minutes. Anchorage had a lot of damage too but you need to know where to look to see it now.

[AKStreamers]

Originally Posted by Tincampers

Are you going out on a sight seeing boat? That was the highlight of our trip to AK.

I second Tina’s recommendation. I live in Anchorage and have taken the Kenai Fjords boats out several times. Always a good trip. I prefer the wildlife tour over the glacier tour. Glaciers start looking the same after you see a couple.

SeaLife center is also worthwhile.

If you take Lillian to the end of the road there is a beach (Alaska-style not Hawaii). Pleasant feeling the brisk ocean win blow in. Makes the camper that more cozy in the evening.

If you’re retired military there is a extremely nice military campground. Most likely full but you never know.

Hope you enjoy Alaska. Sorry about Creekwood - that place is a stinker. If you can go with out hookups, try the Eagle River State Park campground on the way out.

[A W Warn]

The boat trip into the Kenai Fjords National Park was one of the most memorable parts of our trip too. Highly recommend this!!