Day 10-
Today was sea kayaking and a cook day for me and Thorsten. We talked him into a simple dinner when we went shopping. Our suggestion was beef stew since it would be warm and filling after a day of sea kayaking. Thorsten kept saying he didn't know how to make beef stew. I think we ruined his life when we pointed out that it came in a can and made him buy it. For breakfast it was chocolate croissants and cereal for the early risers. Lunch was a sandwich, so I donated trail mix and chips to the cause. Then David, Ulli, Evie and I headed out for sea kayaking.
It was looking to be another rainy day. At Pangaea we got ourselves waivered and paid for, then went out to meet Meg and Zach who would be our guides. It appears I don't know my foot size for boots, but the 3rd try was the charm. They also tried a couple jackets before they found one not already really wet. We also had to pull on our kayak "skirts" and lifejackets to make sure it all fit. Then they take you for a bathroom break. Meg encouraged us to leave it all on so we wouldn't forget anything. I think it is really for the entertainment of everyone up early enough to see us walking around like that. At least the rubber boots were more comfy than the ice climbing boots, just not that warm.
Eventually everyone in both groups was ready so we headed over to the boat that would take us all out. Tim was our captain and gave us a safety talk as well as an explanation on how to use a marine head for a toilet. Then we were off. At least for a few minutes. Then some debris got caught in the system and took awhile for Tim to get it out. On the way out we saw a huge waterfall, 3 eagles and some sea otters. When we reached the cove where we would land we were greeted by a bunch of sea otters in groups. David thinks he counted about 30. I opted to say we saw "lots" or "a shit ton". (So for anyone wondering, a shit ton of otters is approximately 30. A shit ton of trees would need to be a much higher #.) They were cute and we enjoyed watching them as we slowly slipped past them. I loved their faces as they watched us go by. We all unloaded and got out of the way of the guides as they got the boats and other gear down. All three of us girls opted to find a tree before we were stuck in a kayak with no bathroom.
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| Loved all the waterfalls we saw in this region. |
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| The welcome committee. |
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| Warming up at lunchtime. |
After lunch I was still cold but marginally more upbeat about it. We were entertained watching David and Ulli going in circles while we waited for all the kayaks to be loaded. Evie thought she left her water bottle on shore so we headed back in, but it wasn't there. She eventually remembered it was in the hold behind her. It was taking forever to load the family that was in our group, so somehow David and I got into a debate on how athletes are portrayed based on their gender. No recollection on how that started. I think in the end it was decided that we would agree to disagree.
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| Evie bundled up for kayaking. |
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| I found it possible to smile after warming up some. |
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| Loved the color on a gray day. |
On the way back everyone was huddled down for warmth, snacking and sleeping. I saw another bald eagle and closer to home we saw 3 sea lions on a buoy. Two of them were huge and one looked more seal size. I enjoyed the mountain and fog contrasts even though you couldn't see much of the mountains. It was also fun to watch for more waterfalls. When we got back to Valdez we returned our gear, thanked Meg and Zach and headed for our camp. Since both of our guides today have ties to SLC I told them to look me up if they are in the area.
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| Some lazy sea lions. |
The rest of the night was spent hanging out and trying to get things dry in the heat of the laundry room. Ever since our hike in Denali members of the group would break out singing "I Will Follow Him". At first they thought it was a religious song. Then I realized what chorus they were singing and starting singing the rest of the song for them. That's when we realized what it was. Evie finally looked it up on Youtube so we could get all the words. I think someone should use it for karaoke in Seward.
Day 11-
We had a very early start today. Mine was even earlier due to some loud noise at 3:30am. It sounded like someone took a large rock to a metal stake. It only rang out once, but it was super loud. I felt like I sat straight up in bed from a deep sleep, if only mentally. Then at 4am the idiot next to us started telling a story about losing his cell phone. At one point he said sorry for being so loud, but kept on going. The other tour group was also up and packing their stuff at 5am. It was actually a relief to have the alarm go off at 5:30am. Mary and I quickly took the very down the very wet tent. Once again, our group was on time or within a minute of our departure time. Even more impressive today considering the early start and weather conditions. Fortunately, what had sounded like a lot of rain from inside our tent, wasn't too bad when you got out.
The lighting of sun through clouds hitting mountains on the way out was gorgeous. Definitely made it worth the early start. I got a couple of good photos through the windows. David stopped at Thompson Pass for those of us awake. Evie swears she sat up long enough to take a few pictures. Hard to be sure since she looked very passed out by the time we got back on the bus. Natalie, David, Ulli and I all got out and enjoyed the gorgeous views we had missed due to rain on the way in to Valdez. It was a better day for seeing the mountains, even if some were still missing the tops in the clouds. While we were standing there David told me that this is where they did extreme or heli skiing in the winter. I jokingly asked if I was looking at a Warren Miller movie. I found out when I returned to work that one of my athletes had been injured at Thompson pass while filming a segment for a Warren Miller movie. What were the odds my comment would be so true?
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| Sunrise through the windshield. |
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| Thompson Pass- love how clear our shadows were. |
We had some different stops along the way today. There was a breakfast stop, but I had already eaten a leftover chocolate croissant, so I just grabbed a banana. While we were in Glenallen we stopped near the IGA again. (Still forgot to get a photo.) I took advantage of that stop to hit the Wells Fargo and use a restroom. While I waited on the others to be ready I stood outside and enjoyed the sun. Coming down the road toward us was a whole line of cars. It seemed odd since Glenallen isn't that big of a town. I realized that it was a military convoy passing by us. I stood there and waved to all of them. Some even waved back. We also stopped for a photo and restroom break at a state park with a glacier view. A guy in the parking lot greeted Ulli and me when we got out. She commented on how nice everyone in the USA seems to be and how we take the time to say hi. I told her that isn't normal everywhere, but I detected he had a southern accent. Turned out he was a southerner on a mission (religious). I think Natalie almost sold him Atka, but he didn't have her asking price in cash on hand. Our truck is way more comfy than most of the vans we see people using for their trips.
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| I just love that this is the DMV in Glenallen. |
We stopped for lunch by the Knik River outside of Anchorage. It was pretty with some fog rolling across it. While lunch was being prepared I called mom to catch up on the news. I also wanted her advice. We didn't really come up with answers, but I have some ideas. I also found out there are fires in Utah, so maybe I'll just stay here when the trip ends.
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| Pretty place to stop for lunch. |
By the time we reached Anchorage I needed sleep. I did rouse myself for the beluga whale searching, but did not see any. We stopped at a view point for a few minutes. I enjoy the history lessons we have been finding at the different view spots. Just before Seward we stopped once more to see a Salmon Weir, which is where they collect the eggs to help stock other areas. We saw salmon but no bears.
Our campsite in Seward is more open than Valdez since we are up front in a grassy area. Across the drive is the water. W also have close proximity to the shower house. It's a little less wet than Valdez so we popped up the tents and wiped them out. Glad there wasn't video of me scooting around the tent on my knees, pants pulled up to my thighs and my feet up so I wouldn't get dirt on my pants or add any from my shoes. It looks a little better in our tent now. Mary and I always struggle getting the top cross pole in at the end. So this time I suggested we start with that pole in and then add the side poles. So much easier! Glad those future problem solving classes paid off. It only took us four camp sites to figure it out.
Since we spent all day in the truck we had voted to go out for dinner. We went to a place voted to have the best Halibut. It was out of my budget, but Renee gave me a bite of hers. When we were choosing a table they said we could have one closer to the tv but Natalie said no. Normally that would be fine with me, but they had preseason football on. Didn't even know I was missing football until I saw it. I sat at the end of our table so I could turn that direction and check the score. I got the turkey sandwich special with the salmon chowder. The chowder was so good, I highly recommend it.
After dinner some of the group went straight to the Yukon bar while the rest of us went to walk off dinner with David. As we started walking we realized no one had seen Mary go with the other group. David texted Natalie to see if she was with them, but she wasn't. As we started up the hill she joined us, so at least she found us after making a stop in one of the shops. We headed to Wells Fargo for those that needed an ATM before returning to the bar for karaoke night. We had a good spot thanks to our early arrivals. Natalie and Thorsten went up to do a song in German but ended up with the English lyrics. Natalie sang it in German anyway, but Thorsten just looked lost. David went up and did a good job with Folsom Prison Blues. I tried to talk him into "Baby Got Back" without success. Some people were good, some were great, some were bad and others were painful. Overall it was fun and loud. When David said that Ulli wanted to go, I opted to go too. Not sure why since the campsites on either side of us were still going strong. I put my headphones on and tried to drown it all out. Still need some sleep.
* I didn't make note of it in my journal, but I think today is the day Natalie introduced us to the truck murder game. Everyone had to pick a name, then an object and then a location. We are supposed to "murder" the person we drew by getting them to take the object from us. Once you kill them off they have to give you their person/object/location. If they had you, then you end up committing "suicide" and are out of the game. I was very tired when we were told about this so I was not super excited. Maybe someone will kill me off early. It could be interesting to see how it turns out.
Day 12-
I couldn't sleep very well so I decided not to fight it and got up early to shower. The showers at this site take tokens. Each token is worth 2 minutes. I managed to shower with only 2 tokens, but did let a minute go by with no water running. I tried to hurry since I knew a line was forming. When I headed back to the truck I saw Mary standing in the middle of the tents looking half asleep. As I opened truck door I asked her what she was doing. She said she couldn't get in the truck. I guess we had never shown her where the key was hidden. Then she said we would be having cereal since Renee wasn't up yet. (Mary and I were not the cooks in our cook groups. Fortunately we had talented partners.) I wasn't sure what time it was but felt sure it was still early. We figured out that she thought breakfast was an hour earlier than it was supposed to be. When I told her otherwise she went back to our tent. I decided to use the quiet time to catch up on writing.
David and Natalie dropped us off near the tour office and told us to meet them at 11am. It gave us about 80 minutes to wander. I made a loop to check out shops and then circled back for purchases. Mostly I bought postcards and then a moose ornament for my tree. There was an ornament that would have been the perfect souvenir for Thorsten and some of the others, an ornament that looked like a 6 pack of Alaskan Amber beer. I also made sure to stop at the Nat'l Park center for my stamp. I fell in love with the books, "Alaska's Three Pigs" and "The Salmon Princess: An Alaskan Cinderella Story". I managed to talk myself out of getting them for my nieces, at least for now. It only worked until we got back from the cruise when I talked myself into getting them as Christmas presents. As luck would have it, the Nat'l Park center didn't take AmEx so I took it as a sign that I wasn't supposed to get the books right now.
We lined up early for our cruise and I had a nice chat with the people behind us. I can hear my sister saying that is so typical of me. When we boarded our group headed up top and grabbed a table together. Of course as soon as we started out most of us were outside to see things. We did the half day so we started out with lunch right off the bat. We did get to see some Harbor seals on the way. There was even a really young pup, so cute. We also saw some eagles on the way in for the landing. The all you can eat salmon and prime rib buffet at Fox Island was really good. There was a ranger named Jenny who did a presentation on the area. Thorsten took a shine to her, so he was disappointed it was so short. Natalie went to talk to her and introduced the two so Thorsten could get a photo with Ranger Jenny. I swear while standing in the buffet line I saw an eagle swooping down, but can't prove it either way. After lunch we took silly photos with the orca cut out and went to try skipping rocks since they have a beach full of the perfect stones for it. Mine went plop but David had some good ones. I enjoyed listening to the waves hitting the stones on the beach. It reminded me of high tide in Nice, France. Eventually it was time to head back to the ship. I drew David for our truck murder game and I was supposed to kill him with a stone while on water. Sadly, I didn't fully understand the rules on how you let them know they were dead. So I used the skipping stones as a way to let him get used to me asking him if he could skip different stones. I did hand him one while we were on the dock (on water) but didn't tell him he was dead that time. Still hoping someone kills me before I have to finish this.
The after lunch portion of our trip was nice. We saw more harbor seals, some sea lions, more birds than you can imagine and lots of pretty coves. It had cleared up a fair bit so we had some good views. David really wanted to see a whale. Not that I blamed him, I love seeing whales. Most of our group was hoping for an Orca. We had come up with some pretty impressive ideas of what we'd like to see the Orca doing and projected it in hopes it would happen. I got the impression David might consider our day a failure if we didn't see some whale. Fortunately, another boat told us of a whale sighting, so we got to see a humpback. No breech or tail flip, but it was cool to see. I loved the puffins and the scenery along the way. It was a really lovely trip. On the way back everyone went inside except me and Ulli. We chatted quite a bit. I think I'd like traveling on some of the trips she has done, but I'd never be able to keep up with her.
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| Harbor Seals- smallest to the right is a baby. |
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| Puffins- The tall and the short of it |
When we got back to shore, some of the group wanted a coffee stop. They chose a shop near the Cover to Cover bookstore, so I ran in there. She didn't take AmEx either, which probably saved me. There were quite a few Stabenow books available and I would have wanted to buy the ones missing from my colleciton. The woman working there explained to me about the first publisher not letting Stabenow reprint, so there is a fight over the rights. That's why it's hard to get the early books. (Which will make it that much more fun for Katie to replace my copy of the 1st in the series if she doesn't find the one she borrowed.)
Since it wasn't our cook night I took my postcards to the campsite office porch. I had addressed them before the cruise, but needed to write them. It was nice to sit on the porch in a rocking chair with a great view. I had to remind myself to look up every so often. Later I returned to our site to write and watch David cook. Thorsten just can't help himself and started helping when David walked away for a moment. Earlier Renee had questioned everything and made some fun faces at David. After the BBQ success, you would think that she would have more faith in David's cooking. After awhile we noticed that the fishing group had come in and were displaying the catch over at Miller's Landing. Evie said she was too lazy to go. A few minutes later David noticed and pointed out there were different fish than yesterday. Some of us decided to go see after all. As we walked away I asked if this is how he gets rid of volunteer cooks. There were rock fish (red snapper), salmon and a huge halibut. they were measuring the halibut when we were there and it was 68 inches long. I'm only 60 inches! Don't think I've ever seen a fish that big before.
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| My view while writing postcards. |
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| 68 inch Halibut. |
Dinner was burritos and David was nice enough to make some of the meat as non-spicy for wimps like me. They were delicious of course. After helping Mary dry dishes, I sat at the picnic table to write and listen to conversations around the campfire. And of course watching the marshmallow roasting is always fun. I had one s'more but got the stake crackers. It was Evie's first time having more than just the marshmallow. I told her they are better when the cracker is not soft. David went and got a fresh box. When the colors on the mountains got nice I walked over to the table by the water to take photos and enjoy it. Very pretty clouds coming in across the water and mountains. It was amazing how fast the fog moved in as the sun set. I enjoyed the view for awhile and then went back to sit with Ulli and Natalie. We ended up getting into a great debate over what should be called bread. We also discussed the random things they throw into salads. Things like cottage cheese that I wouldn't have considered. I believe after all that we are still friends. Just firmly established that I have no food knowledge or appreciation.
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