Alaska Hartman

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Alaska 2008

Native Heritage Center free day. Really nice coverage of the lives of the native people. Recommended if you are in the area.

Depart airport 2 AM Monday morning ADT.

Photo taken in Anchorage at Earthquake Park.

Denali is actually visable on the right.

ADDENDUM:

5/6 Nieces arrive at our house to cat sit.

5/12 bh & hh arrive home....NO cat

5/13 alarm does not go off; bh & hh start driving to Chicago at 8:50 for bh 9:30 teeth cleaning appointment. lunch at Pad Thai with nieces
hh does not feel good.......NO cat

5/14 4 am hh diarhea and vomiting...thinks the lettuce at lunch was e coli
hh sleeps all day......NO cat

5/15 hh sleeps all morning. Nieces in the city; bh & hh go out for dinner
all arrive home @ 6:30........CAT ON PORCH

5/16 6:15 bh and niece 1 depart for OHare.
9:30 bh, hh, & niece 2 depart for OHare.
1 PM bh & hh at prairie. hh naps most of afternoon. bh sprays weeds
6 PM bh to Dixon to buy immodium for hh
10 PM bh diarhea and vomiting

5/17 bh sleeps all day. hh sprays weeds

5/18 bh & hh spray weeds all day.
bh foolishly eats dinner => more diarhea

MUST HAVE BEEN THE ALASKA FLU!

Day 21 Saturday May 10

Saturday May 10, 2008

Arts & Crafts Market Anchorage :
Once it is actually spring there will be a farmers market.
Today is the first market of the year, so only t-shirts, crafts, and food with an Alaska twist.

Lunch at F Street station: Hank had to go back for the fried halibut.

In the afternoon we hiked part of a bicycle trail in Anchorage .
It is along the Cook Inlet by the airport and Earthquake Park.
This is 2 or 3 miles southwest of the trail location where the previous shots of earthquake terrain were taken.

This is the swampland upon which Anchorage International Airport was built.

Still only hints of green and some equisetum (horsetail) sprouts.

We drove out for one last look at Turnagain Arm and the incoming tide. But again, no bore tide today. McHugh Creek has a great parking spot and overlook with the ubiquitous bear message.

Moose just off the long runway at Anchorage International. Gives you a nice feeling about taking off from there.

Daily moose count: 2

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Day 20 Friday May 9

Alaska Mint: actually a tourist trap store.
It does sell gold nuggets and Alaska commemerative coins.

Mammals in Alaska Movie: narration by a kid; very cute.

Flattop Mountain: just east of Anchorage in the Chugach Mountains.
Guess what? The parking lot is ploughed; the trails are closed.. there's still FEET of snow! But you can see Anchorage from here.

Alaska Botanic Garden

Nothing to see here except signs and a big fence. Only thing green is the spruce and some moss.

Signs also warn that you should watch for dog sleds , moose, and bear. And please report the time and location of any moose. Note the large fence surrounding the area. Click on the photo to see Iditarod Trail sign.

Yes he is inside the fence. Yes he is standing next to a sign that says be aware of bears. Yes it is late in the day. Yes we are walking faster now.

Moose count for today : 2

Day 19 Thursday May 8

Thursday May 8

Seward ......on the water, glaciers and whales

Dall porpoise
1/2 second of a gray whale
3 kinds of cormorants

Goat & bald eagles looking for kids for lunch in the same shot.

sea lions

sea otters

Gulls and Ranger Tom, who commented 4 or 5 times "I can't believe you stayed outside the whole trip." (It was cold and rainy.)

The 1964 earthquake wiped out much of the towns of Valdez and Seward. Lots of the damage was due to the tsunami.
However right up the shoreline from where the docks were obliterated, all the tourist stuff is rebuilt right at the waterline.

Exit Glacier

This glacier is just north of Seward and is part of Fijord National Park.
You can walk right up onto it. Except not now. The road is not plowed and the trail is covered with 3 feet of snow. The visitor ranger center suggests hiking in on snowshoes.

Day 18 Wednesday May 7

Wednesday, May 7

Anchorage....across the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet

Alaska Aviation Museum. They have several flyable planes that they have rebiult. They were finishing one the day that we were there that they had been working on for more than three years. Got to talk to the guys doing the work. Very intertesting. The museum is on a lake beside the Anchorage International Airport. The lake has the most water take-offs and landings of any lake in the world.

Lunch at White Spot: haddock sandwiches.
12 seats at the counter; 10 seats at tables.
Haddock was breaded and fried before our very eyes.
Fresh cut french fries cooked after we ordered.

Earthquake Park
Large chunks of Anchorage slid into the ocean in the 1964 earthquake.
Really quite impressive. An 8,000 foot long section of this "bluff" along the Cook Inlet slid into the bay...with its subdivision.

This is what the area now looks like.

Nice pair of sandhill cranes feeding on mudflats at low tide in the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet

Bought a bear bell and a Ginger toy at the Anchorage REI.

Carl still does not have running water or indoor plumbing ;-)

Moose count today: zero.

Day 17 Tuesday May 6

Drove from Anchorage towards Seward on the Seward Highway.
It has lots of scenic overlooks and an interesting law.
If there are more than 5 cars in a group, the lead vehicle is REQUIRED to pull over and allow the others to pass.

The Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet has a bore tide. The moon phase was never correct while we were there to see it. So this shot is just the normal tide going out; which was very impressive.

Dall sheep count: 4 And several visible on subsequent drives in this area.

Avalanche chutes: a gazillion
Beluga whales: local guy told us we were seeing them. We were skeptical.

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center: mostly animals left unattended as babies and not socialized to hunt or survive in the wild.
3 brown bears

3 black bears
4 adult musk ox; 2 babies less than 10 days old
(reintroduced to Alaska from Greenland)

10 wood bison: big formal reintroduction to Alaska project
7 caribou
3 moose
10 elk
2 black tail deer (only smaller deer are Florida deer)
2 great horned owls

lunch Silver Tip Cafe in Girdwood .......great chicken wild rice soup and haddock sandwich
supper Double Musky Inn in Girdwood .....rated among top ten restaurants in US by Food Network. salmon au poivre and garlic seafood pasta

Visitor Centers in Alaska remain closed.