We had a good Mexican dinner at Mamacita's in Girdwood. Behind the restaurant they had the most upscale laundry we have ever seen....but it cost a minimum of $4.00 per load!

These pictures were taken at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. AWCC is a non-profit organization that takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides spacious enclosures and quality animal care. Animals that cannot be released into the wild are given a permanent home at the center. Enjoyed seeing the animals here but prefer seeing them in the wild...not within enclosed areas. The last picture is a reindeer....the other's I'm sure you can tell!

Explorer Glacier

7/23/07 - 2nd Day in Portage Valley (Williwaw Campground)

We got up to more rain today, so we will not take the Portage Glacier boat trip but instead head through the 2.5 mile tunnel to Whittier and see what's on the other side of the mountain. Wildlife sightings today: None only 5 domesticated reindeer that some store owner had in Whittier. If you want to see where we are currently at(7/28/07) go to: http://map.datastormusers.com/user2.cfm?user=2430

There were waterfalls everywhere in Whittier.

Before Portage and Burns Glaciers began their latest retreats, early traders, miners, and indigenous peoples traveled across these glaciers using them as a 'portage' between Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet. Today, the railroad and tunnel to Whittier provide this important link for people. This is a 2.5 mile one lane tunnel. It uses a computerized traffic control system that regulates both rail and highway traffic. There is an 8 lane staging area controlling how the traffic enters the tunnel.

Whittier is 'The Western Gateway to Prince William Sound'. Today it was a rainy dreary day. They had a good size harbor, there was a large cruise ship in and some kayakers were out in the bay. There are hardly any homes at all here. There is a 14-story condominium that houses 85% of Whittier's population along with its post office, city hall and medical clinic. There is a tunnel from the condo to the school, which is directly behind the condo. Was a very unusual little town.

This is one of the ferries that can haul the RV's, however we did not see any load here.

When we stopped at the Visitor's Center yesterday they told us to come back tomorrow because they were having a birthday cake and party for Chugach National Forest's 100th Anniversary. Chugach is the 2nd largest forrest in the United States. Smokey was at the party so we had to get some pictures.....'He said to tell everyone Hi at home'.

Another unusual camper.

7/22/07 - Wasilla to Portage Valley Area - 94 miles

Left around 9:30 this morning and headed south towards Anchorage and a Fred Meyer service station to top off our diesel before getting to the Kenai Peninsula area. Think our new friends thought it was pretty comical us all getting our cheaper fuel and getting in and out of the service stations. We got our cheapest fuel yet on the trip here (with our discount it was $2.69 a gallon....and we now think that is cheap)! The Kenai Peninsula is south of Anchorage and has been labeled the playground of southcentral Alaska. The peninsula is 150 miles long and 70 miles wide. The Seward Highway crosses the isthmus that separates the Kenai Peninsula from the rest of Alaska. Wildlife sightings today: 3 Dall Sheep If you want to see where we are currently at (7/28/07) go to: http://map.datastormusers.com/user2.cfm?user=2430

Turnagain Arm is a 48 mile long estuary stretching from the mouth of the Placer River to the head of Cook Inlet.

Portage Lake & Burns Glacier. You use to be able to see Portage Glacier when the Visitor Center was built in 1986, however it has now receded and is behind the mountain that you see on the right. We had planned to take the boat ride to it but it is really cloudy and raining...will wait and see how the weather is tomorrow.

Just when we walked into the visitor center there was a program beginning by The Fiddlin' Foresters. This is a quartet based out of the Denver area that travels around the country performing with their music and giving an educational information interspursed. They put on a good program.

This quilt was on display at the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center by Portage Glacier & Portage Lake. The lighting on the quilt made it hard to get a good picture.

Byron Glacier

This was our campsite at Williwaw USFS Campground. Since we have the Golden Age Passport (a beny of getting old!) we dry camped here for $6.50 per night. It was a beautiful campground and area...we just had 3 days of rain here so it was a little soggy!

7/21/07 - 5th Day in Wasilla

I worked on getting our Quarterly Reports out this morning....not a very fun job but one I wanted to get out of the way before the end of the month deadline. Since we don't have a sewer hook-up and our laundry was building up....it was off to the campground laundromat....was kinda pricey at $2.00 per wash load and $2.00 per dryer. Once that was done we headed to The Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla. Stopped at Fred Meyer's to stock up on groceries since we aren't sure how long before we hit another good size grocery story. Boy groceries are high up here....hope the wages compensate for the costs! We took everything back and put it away and then Richard & Karen and us headed in our own jeeps for a little touring of the Mat-Su Valley area. We first wanted to run by and see if we might catch Roger Ball (our pastor) at his sister's place and then it was on towards Palmer. We saw some really pretty scenery, but once again no wildlife. When we asked Roger's sister where all the wildlife was she said there are too many people for them now....need to be here earlier or later in the season. If you want to see where we are at currently (7/28/07) go to: http://map.datastormusers.com/user2.cfm?user=2430

We went to the Iditarod Trail Headquarters in Wasilla. Saw and excellent video on the racing, history and the dogs. The Iditarod Trail had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps. On the first Saturday in March, mushers line out their dog teams in downtown Anchorage for their turn to start the 'Last Great Race on Earth', the Iditarod which is 1100 miles ending in Nome.

Rochelle's Ice Cream Shop. This is the ice cream stand that our pastor's (Roger Ball) sister owns. We stopped by for some good ice cream....we had heard that Roger might possibly be there....but we were a few days early to see him. Tena is only about 1 mile from Eklutna Lake....really pretty area.