Looking for sun in all the wrong places

We headed out of the gray Washington weather in search of sun and warm temperatures.  What we ran into was a blizzard just outside of San Diego and then this snow/hail storm in downtown Phoenix.  

In fairness to Arizona, it really has been very nice for most of our stay here.  We  connected up with some friends from Easton, WA who have a winter home here.  We had a great barbeque and enjoyed the sunset lighting up the nearby Superstition Mtns.

We paid a quick visit to Millie's 92 year old Aunt Helen who she has not seen since she was 11 (Millie was 11 :))

We made the Jeep happy by taking a 22 mile dirt trail that wound around the hills and valleys just east of  the city.

This desert is much more interesting and vibant than we remembered.  Forests of Saguaro cactus and  many other varieties of plants that we can't name.  No snakes or scorpions this time of year but they are out here somewhere.  We will stay for another week and then head for home.  

It's good to be home

We had an exceptional trip but it is also very nice to come home.  We arrive yesterday and spent today cleaning all the Alaska dust and mud out of the motor home.  We have over 1000 pictures to sort through and get ready to bore any unsuspecting family or friend that happens to stop by.

We got Bears!

 We found the bears! Or, I suppose it would be more correct to say we found the salmon and the bears were already there.  After our brief ferry ride from Haines to Skagway and having the wonderful opportunity to drive the motorhome around INSIDE a big ship, we headed south on the Cassier Highway.  After being disappointed with our weather canceled trip to see the bears at Brooks Falls we heard about a little town at the end of a dirt road in southeast Alaska called Hyder.         Running through Hyder is a little creek called Fish Creek which is the spawning ground for the largest Chum salmon in the world.

 Watching the spawning ritual was fascinating but when the eagles showed up for dinner.... 

 ...and this huge grizzly came by to show us how fishing is really done.... 

 it was truly amazing.  One of the highlights of the entire trip.

 We ran our camera batteries dry and continued south into more beautiful country.  Heading for home but still lots to see on roads we missed on our way up north.

We are now stopped in a little Provincial Park at the bottom of a canyon on the road to Prince Rupert, BC.  We don't have any services here but we found that if we put the Verizon Aircard about 30 feet up a nearby tree we can get just enough signal to post this to the blog.

Glacier Bay National Park

 On Thursday, we got into this airplane in Haines, AK....

 ...and flew over these mountains on a beautiful summer day...

 ...to get to this very out of the way national park in Gustavus, where we.....

 ....took lots of walks in the forest and along the beach (Thurs)....

 ...and braved the very cold rain that came in on Friday to take lots of pictures of...

 ....Harbor seals...

 ....fat mountain goats....

 ...scraggly wolves and....

...lots and lots of glaciers.  We then flew back to Haines in less than perfect weather in time to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony.  Just a perfect side trip. We are headed to Skagway via the 20 minute ferry ride rather than back track 350 miles.  Hope the motorhome fits.

 We are heading south now and sharing the wilderness with a few new friends.

 Bears, both black and brown, have been very plentiful on this trip.

 We stopped at Destruction Bay, YT and camped on the shore of Kluane Lake.  

We headed West on the Haines highway and got back into the mountains.  This is one of the most beautiful scenic roads we have ever seen with hardly anyone else on the road.  We stopped for lunch and in a half hour only one vehicle came by.  We are now in Haines, AK and will take a bush plane out to Gustavus, AK to visit Glacier Bay National Park then onto a ferry to Skagway, AK.

Fairbanks, Alaska

 We visited Fairbanks and ran around to a few of the museums including this Ice Museum that displays various ice sculptures highlighted by colored lights.  It gave a hint of what the winter ice carving competition that is held every year.  The museum we toured was kept a temp of 20 degrees.  We are not interested in visiting for the actual winter event when it is 50 below.

 We took a drive out the the Alaska pipeline.  Millie is posing with a "Pig" which is used to clean the gunk from inside of the pipe.  

The pipeline runs above ground in many areas because of the permafrost just below the surface which makes the ground to unstable to support a buried pipe.  The posts that support the pipe have a passive cooling system that super cools the ground so the permafrost will not melt no matter how warm the pipe gets from the moving oil.  Fascinating stuff!

 It took a month to get here, but it was well worth the trip.

 Denali park is huge.  It is very primitive with very little developed area that allows ready access.  There is no trail system....you just wonder off into the wild and hope you can find your way back.  Having left our compass in the other car we took a 12 hour bus ride on 92 miles of winding, gravel road into the interior of the park.

 Along the way we were treated to partial views of Mt. McKinley and the entire Alaska Range.

 The weather finally cooperated with our plans and we had a wonderful day.

 Everywhere you look, there is another memorable sight.

 Not very dramatic but gets the message across.  

We saw moose, grizzly bear, Dall  sheep, caribou, fox and a mouse. 

 Today we ran around the Visitor's Center including the sled dog demonstration.

Denali is the only park that still uses dog teams to perform winter patrols...more reliable and more warm and cuddly than a snowmobile.