Alaska Airlines gets you there on time.

We leave home [Tempe, Arizona (U.S.A.)] at 5 a.m. and arrive in Anchorage, Alaska at 3:30 p.m. (after a short stop in Seattle, Washington). We were met by Ruth, the owner of Sweet Retreat). After a quick (1-hour) checkout on the subtler points of our rental RV (a 24' Winnebago Minnie), we make a break for the Seward Highway and head toward Portage. An hour or so down the road, we camped at Williwaw campground, about 20 minutes from Portage Glacier. It was windy, rainy and cool; just to our liking!

Portage Glacier has been retreating rapidly over the past 100 years so you can't get too close. But, it is definitely worth the stop. Inside the Visitor's Center, they have a very nice 20 minute movie on glaciers. A must see.

Seward at Last! Resurrection Bay. Gulf of Alaska. We drop anchor on the beach (city camp ground). We head for Caines Head and search for tidal pools. Emily found a small black and white fish in a small pool.

Tonight we dine at Ray's on Copper River salmon! Great food. Great view -looks out over the Seward small boat harbor.

First stop, Seward's new (1997) Marine Museum.This research facility was built with money collect as part of the Exxon Valdez incident. We returned here several times as Emily loved to "dance" with "Kisska," the female Stellar sea lion.

At 11 a.m., we board the 'Glacier Explorer' for a six hour cruise (past Caines Head and Calisto Head, around Aialik Cape, past Three Hole point and up to the face of the Holbrook Glacier). Along the way, we see cormorants, bald eagles, black oyster catchers, black-legged kittiwakes, murres, puffins, mountain goats, sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions, humpback whales, Fin whales, Dall porpoise, and numerous other species. When they offer the motion sickness pills, take them! It can get rough out there.

After the cruise, it's back to the Marine Museum for more "Dancing with Kisska."

It is overcast and raining this morning - perfect day to do some driving. Homer is on the southern edge of the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula. We will be passing through Moose Pass, Cooper Landing, Kasifof, Clam Gulch, Ninilchik and Anchor Point. By 2:30 p.m., we have secured campsite #16 at Stariski State Recreation Site, directly overlooking Cook Inlet. As I set out of the RV, a bald eagle screams by about 20 feet over my head.

Homer Spit: The first thing we do in Homer is head to the Spit. Lots of fishing ships going in and out. Halibut everywhere! Lunch is at Boardwalk Fish and Chips. Get the "Fish-on-a-stick," it's great.

First up, the Pratt Museum. The Exxon Valdez fiasco dominates here. Don't miss the remote monitor. They have a remote feed from four cameras: Cook Inlet, puffin nest, sea gull rookery, under water in the bay.

Back to the Spit. Kate and I share a salty dog (vodka and grapefruit juice) in the Salty Dog Saloon. Lots of activity in the harbor, except on the 'Salmon Ella.' I don't think I'd eat any fish coming off that boat!

Before heading for the tidal pools, we ate lunch at Two Sisters, a delightful cafe near the public beach area. As we combed the beach looking for anemones, starfish, crabs, and snails, Emily made a new friend, Heather. The two girls are immediately life-long friends and cannot stand to be separated. So, we spend the next 2 or 3 hours searching the beach for tidal treasures with Heather and her mom.

Palmer was populated during the Depression. The government moved a bunch of midwestern farmers to this Alaskan valley. Not unexpectedly, Palmer became an agricultural area (where the giant three foot radishes originated).

Anyway, we camped at Matanuska River Campground just on the edge of Palmer. After securing the absolutely most desirable campsite (ala, Emily), we headed for Lazy Mountain for a leisurely 5 mile round trip hike. NOT! Unfortunately, for us, Lazy Mountain gains 2 miles in elevation in those 2.5 miles! Straight up and muddy. Take three steps forward, slide back one. On the way down, take one step forward, slide down three. We survived, although only barely. My advice, stay away from Lazy Mountain.

Outside of Palmer, we stopped at Matansuka Glacier. For the low price of $6.50 (US), you can drive up to the glacier (within a 15 minute walk). We grabbed our gear and trudged up to the ice. Very cool. Worth the trip.

Back on Alaska 1 (mostly under construction) toward Glennallen, then south on Alaska 4 to Valdez. Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon and Thompson Pass are excellent stopping points. Be very careful at Bridal Veil Falls.

Valdez was nearly invisible - completely enclosed in fog/mist/clouds. I can imagine it being beautiful - snow capped mountains looming over Prince William Sound!

Still not able to testify to the beauty of Valdez. Visibility remains completely obscured. So, we went to the Valdez Museum. The museum is very small and most items were donated by Valdex residents. A very pleasant place. Later, we located the community college (not as easy as you might expect). There you can see a video of the 1964 earthquake (8.4 - 9.4) that completely destroyed Valdez. Part of the video is a clip from an eight millimeter movie taken by a sailor on a boat! I hate to ruin the ending, but the surge after the tidal wave literally sucked the (old) town of Valdez into Prince WIlliam Sound.

After 24 hours of rainy mist, we say "so-long" to Valdez and head by up Alaska 6 (the Richardson Highway, Alaska's first road). The Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site proved too tempting to resist. Half-way up the access is blocked (snow packed). We bail out of the RV and hoof it the rest of the way. Nice view and all to ourselves. On the way back to the RV, we stopped and built a tiny (12") snow-person. A totem of sorts.

Back on the road to Paxton Lake where we camped for the night.

Just before Fairbanks, we stop at the North Pole so Emily can see Santa and look through his workshop (i.e., fairly crass x-mas store). After carefully examining everything (60 minutes worth), We manage to escape with only a single beanie baby!

Fairbanks. Not much to recommend here besides being on the edge of the "real" frontier. We were unable to locate some family friends so out of town we go.

We camp at Donnely Creek; a small state park with 12 sites (most empty). Emily stages several "races," which she manages to win.

South from Donnely Creek is Paxton and finally, the Denali Highway (Alaska Route 8). The road is 136 miles long of which only the eastern most 21 are paved. The paving crew said they would be back every year to finish another 21 miles. No one has seen them since.

The drive is very nice. No traffic, gravel roads, cruising at 40 mph. After 82 miles, we stopped at the Gracious House. They have some land on a lake for campers (see: picture at left and top of page).

After a breakfast at Gracious House, we head down the Denali Highway. We enter Denali at precisely 11:08 a.m., and head directly to the visitors center to get our camping permits.

Our first two nights at Denali are at the Savage Creek campground (12 miles from the park entrance; 34 sites). After securing the "absolutely most desirable site (ala Emily), it's time to hike. There are few marked trails in Denali, and all of those are near the visitor's center. One such trail is Horseshoe Lake. This is a 1.5 mile hike to am oxbow lake. There is an expertly engineered beaver dam and lodge. If your lucky, you might even see the beaver!

After the hike, we go back to the visitor's center to gather maps, books, and other information. There is a 10-15 minute slideshow of Denali in the Visitor's Center theater which is definitely worth your time. The Visitor's Center is full of activity. Huge boards behind the main counter display campground and tour bus availability. Park rangers are everywhere (and very nice). Our favorite ranger (whose name I've forgotton), is busy entertaining (educating) a bunch of kids, including Emily.

Back at the campground, we wander down to the Savage River. Lots of bear and moose scat! The weather is cool and overcast. We do get our first glimpse of Denali after supper. While walking toward the river, we notice that the lower reaches of Denali are finally showing through the clouds. Hopefully, we will see the summit before we leave (p=.1).

Everyone slept late this morning. Having 20 hours of daylight is really messing with our internal clocks.

The Mount Healy trailhead is behind the Denali Lodge. The Lodge and surrounding buildings are scheduled to be demolished in 2000. I doubt many will mourn the loss considering its resemblance to a trailer court.

Back to the hike. The trail is a 5 miles roundtrip and gains 1,700 feet in elevation. It is a very nice hike, and consequently, very popular.

Denali is closed to personal vehicles a few miles past the Savage River Campground. The only way to get in further, other than on foot, is to take the "Bus." [ASIDE--yes, they do let Tek campers drive to the campground. See June 14.] Check the "Big Board" in the Visitor's Center for availability. Eielson is an eight hour turn-around trip on a gravel road. Sit close to the front on the driver's side for the best views.

Along the way, we saw moose (including a female with twin calves), lots of caribou and Dall sheep, grizzly bears (a sow with two cubs --very cute), porcupine, bald eagles (including eaglets), ptarmigan, and much, much more.

Eielson has it's own Visitor's Center. It is an excellent spot to catch a glimpse of "Denali," weather permitting. In our case it didn't.

The road to Teklanika Campground is restricted to those camping there and the park buses. The road is gravel and, as you might assume, lightly traveled. On the way out, we stopped for supper at Crest of Pass on Primrose Ridge. This is our last hope to see Denali before the big descent to Teklanika. No luck. Denali is completely obscured by clouds.

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