Friday 16th May 2003, Glenallen to Beaver Creek

I had another long drive ahead of me so I was on the road by 9 o'clock.  It was flat country and I was surrounded by forest.  I was fascinated at first, then..."well, ok, yes, they're trees!", then bored and finally completely awed by the scale of it all.

I gradually worked my way up into the mountains, still surrounded by forest; the road occasionally rising above the tree line to view the valley I'd just left, trees carpeting the valley floor and creeping up the mountainside, gradually giving way to a little scrubland before the mountains rise steeply to the sky.  Maybe a river or mudflats worming through the valley from one end to the other.  Sometimes the road winding so much I'd lose sight of it among the trees and have the illusion that I am completely surrounded by mountains, there's no way out, and the world has shrunk to this one small valley. 

I had planned to lunch in Tok but numerous road works held me up.  I really must learn that this country doesn't care about my plans and schedules.  So I just sat back, enjoyed the ride and stopped at the first place that appealed.  It was about 40 miles short of Tok and in one of those valleys.  It was filled (not hard considering it only took about a dozen people anyway) with locals including four gents who were exactly my idea of old coots, and who took great delight in 'chatting up the young lady'.

I've been travelling steadily north and climbing into the mountains since leaving Seward.  At some stage spring had withdrawn and the trees had been again in an uneasy doze.  Moving down out of the mountains onto the plains surrounding Tok, spring came again and I feel privileged to have seen it twice this year.

After coffee in Tok I drove straight through to the US/Canada border.  I was travelling under the Visa exemption scheme for UK nationals and was supposed to hand in the form, that was clipped to my passport, when leaving.  I explained I was going back into Alaska at Skagway so they marked the form for multiple entries and I've just got to remember to hand it in the last time I exit the US.  It's valid to July and they impressed on me the importance of not taking it back to the UK with me.  Must stick a reminder note somewhere!

And so it was goodbye to Alaska, for now; it's been wonderful!

Thursday 15th May 2003, Seward to Glenallen

I was up early again this morning but not from choice. Both nights a party of school kids was deposited at the hotel just before 10 o'clock with attendant yells, bangs and running around. Both mornings I was wakened around 5:30 as they got up and banged, crashed, chatted, shrieked and generally made as much noise as school kids can. Fine for them but I had a very long drive to Glenallen that day.

The internet was free again so having taken advantage of the email I looked up the ferry times.  I had hoped to get the ferry from Whittier to Valdez, then drive to Glenallen through the Chugach Mountains but found out that the next ferry wouldn't get in until 9:30pm leaving me with a 2-3 hour drive to follow.  I decided to go back towards Anchorage, turning off on the Glenn Highway just south of the city and I have no regrets at the choice.  Lunch was enjoyed while chatting with a lady from Surrey who moved to Alaska 8 years ago, and an Indian lady with her daughter.  She recommended the Indian Hospital in Anchorage if I wanted to buy authentic souvenirs.  The patients make them.  She was there in November having her stomach stapled and has lost 190lbs since.  The waitress (Surrey lady) advised me to just order extras for breakfast, not the set meals excluding this, that or the other.  Works out cheaper usually.  I love these times, chatting with new, friendly people - I'm changing!

I enjoyed viewing the Seward Highway from the opposite direction and I think I got some photos this time.  The Glenn Highway has varied scenery, breathtaking in fact.  I drove through many canyons, saw a glacier, caribou at the side of the road and - often - ‘slide area ends' signs.  Somehow I never saw the 'begins' signs.  (Slides = rock falls).  In these places you'd see great scars in the canyons or hillsides where vast areas have just dropped away.  I saw rocks on the road and rocks actually falling nearby but nothing ever fell near the road or me while I was on it.  Phew!

 

Road works were fun.  At one point I waited 20 mins to play 'follow-my-leader'.  This involves waiting for a queue of traffic to form then a Pilot Vehicle guides the traffic through the works.  It will be nice when I have the RV with my own facilities, it can be a long time between stops!  It snowed again before I got to Glenallen, much to my delight, and the chagrin of the inhabitants of the cafe I was in at the time; it had snowed there every day for the past week and they were sick to the back teeth of it.  However, they were highly amused when I briefly abandoned my meal to run out into the snow in excitement so I could say it had actually snowed on me in Alaska!  In fact today I started in warm sun and ran the gamut of rain, snow, sleet and hail before the day finished.

 

The New Caribou Inn in Glenallen was a very comfy, cosy place with decent food and I slept well.