Timing is everything, we got out of Dodge (Anchorage) right before a wildfire wrecked a small amount of havoc.  Hope is amazing as small towns go.  Most places roll up the sidewalks at 9pm, this place rolls them up at 4pm. We pulled into the park a little after 12pm, the sign said pay in the store, it was closed.  So we called the girl goes pull in site 6 which was right by the fishermen path.  So we asked to be in the middle, another water side view.  The big draw back was the amount of flies, I guess that comes with fish.  I asked who I pay the girl says my husband will stop by sometime today or tomorrow.  Way to easy going. 

 We set out for lunch and ended up at the only game in town  Titos discovery cafe.  On the way out we drove by the few gift stores in Hope all closed.  Lunch was good and fresh afterwards we sat on their porch and practiced shooting pictures with different exposures and speed.  When we finished we went looking for the gold panner who was willing to teach you to pan for a price of course.  Tomorrow we will get up and try again.

On our way to Hope we passed a wildfire that was pretty small.  When we got back from lunch the fire had spread quite a bit.  I came up here to escape this.  We are staying put tomorrow.

I did it I screamed for Ice Cream did you? The geocaching community is active up here.  Three days in Anchorage and three events.  I even won a raffle prize at this event.  How come I had to drive 4850 miles to win a raffle prize?  Roy and I travelled down town before the event in search of some wacky things I needed for my roadside attraction pictures.  It was cool to post some pictures last night.  I am still getting used to the camera, it’s not the same as a point and shoot.  The picture we were in search of was the fishing reel bridge.

After the event we took Tim and Kate to dinner very enjoyable.  We were orginally going to do sushi but changed our minds to a popular burger joint.  When we got there found out it was an hour wait.  While Tim and I went to grab a cache Kate went to check on sushi.  We get to the cache opened it up and go to sign the log, Tim had no writing utensil.  Guess what?  I do not either even though I had a purse.  We walked back and had to borrow Roy’s pen.  By this time Kate came back and we were able to get in for sushi.  It was very good been a long time.

Roy and I agreed this was an amazing break.  I got to post pictures and Roy got to post more on Facebook.  On to the pennisula tomorrow.

Today I cleaned the trailer in the morning and then we all went to a geo event in the afternoon.  It was a good Saturday in all.  The geo-event was held for a cacher’s parents 50th wedding anniversary.  Any excuse for an event.  I took some pictures and will post those to the CVGC group on facebook.  I sat down next to someone who said he probably has the most geocoins of any collecter in the Alaska area.  He has alot over 800 and had never been to a geocoinfest so we sat down and talked, I then told him what I had.  I asked him what his favorite coin was he said it was the Compass Rose series, mine is the Little Pax dragon.  Tomorrow is an ice cream social event with my new camera.

My nikon led screen went blank when I tried to review a picture and shut off the camera.  So now it’s another learning curve. I got a Canon Rebel 5 DSLR.

I got my first disappointment today we went to drive upto a glacier the Matanuska.  It’s ok otherwise we would have been late for a geocaching event.  No animals today either.  BTW I did stop and get a picture of the glacier.

We got to Tundra Tim and Klondike Kate’s house in time to head down to Portage train station for an event. I bought some train related stuff for our train trip.  Lunch was next on the adgenda and we drove by some burgie bits (broken off tiny ice burgs).  I think I have pics my preview display broke.  We drove upto the town of Gridwood, sorta a hippie ski town.

Today after I do trailer stuff am working on pictures.

I had a rare encounter with a bull moose today. We were driving into Sheep Mountain and saw a bull moose with his velvet still on, maybe three years old. It is interesting to see the small rack encased in almost a dark mocca color. This has been the perfect time to see young animals everything is so new.  Male moose it seems rarely are seen, according to a couple of locals I’ve talked to.  This guy was showing off his girl friend.  Once we stopped by the side of the road and Roy woke me it was two late for me to grab the camera.

Something both Roy and I have found interesting is how low some of the mountain passes are, it is cool travelling in the valleys.  We are over 4500 miles so far so just about half way.  

Tonight’s place has 5 RV spots and we are the only ones here kinda cool.  Very good restaurant, I tried copper river red salmon.  The fish did not taste fishy and it was very flaky.  

Well I should be able to get pictures up when we are in Anchorage.

Saw no bears today until we were headed back to the trailer.  He caused Roy to do a u-turn, by this time the bear had crossed the road.  It was a brown bear unlike the grizzly  we saw yesterday.  Tomorrow we are headed to Glacier view which is 4 hours from here.  We will then be in Anchorage staying at Tundra Tim’s (a fellow geocacher).  Loads of laundry, cleaning the trailer, Roy has car maintence to do while there.  I like lazy days

Or I saw my first Alaskan bear. It was cool he just walked up to the salmon hatchery to grab dinner.  Unfortunately there were alot of people running to get a good look at him, too close for me.  I stayed a safe distance.  While we were waiting to see this bear the sea lions were feasting on salmon and entertaining us.  Above it all were 3 bald eagles circling and landing and taking off again.

The drive down was beautiful saw numerous waterfalls and one large glacier, the Worthington.  I walked down to the lower viewing area but did not walk outto the glacier.  Being at sea level is nice a little chilly but nice.  We have water front property for the next two days.  I am so happy to be sharing my adventures with all of you.

Roy slept late today an advantage to staying in one place.  I woke up about 7 which is late for me.  Walked around enjoyed the morning woke Roy about 9am.  I did post some pictures from the flight over Kennicott Alaska yesterday.

We stopped by a Yak farm, couldn’t take the tour because it would require about a ten minute walk. So we headed to the airport to see the fish wheels up close.  A guy was cutting up the fish and then feeding the scraps to the seagulls.  They just rotate in the water and catch fish in one of the two baskets, they then fall into a holding container.  Then the guy takes them out with a net and kills them then fillets them.  The nice thing about the fish wheel is they can only catchfor personnal use or to barter with.

Sorry for the large picture

Before Chitina there was a cool waterfall called Liberty Falls stopped.  Headed into the big town of Chitina for lunch at the Chitina Motel. The town feels like a Stephen King novel.  Roy had reindeer sausage it was too spicy, I had a yak burger sweet but dry.  After lunch we headed towards McCarthy with a stop on the easement, rock bars to see more fish wheels.  We journeyed through a one lane gorge cut out for the train in the early 1900s. The first bridge we came upon was constructed in 1974 and reconnected McCarthy with the rest of the world.  The railway bridge would was out every year.  This is where the other fish wheels were, we also saw dip net fishing here.  A person uses a big net and slowly swishes it back and forth in the cold water.

We encountered maybe 4 miles of compressed rock where we stayed in the middle to avoid railway spikes.  Then the road became chip sealed, so no real risk of tire damage.  We drove to mile 17 where there is a single lane wooden rail bridge you have to drive over.  It is 293 feet above the gorge, this was the “HIGH point” of the trip.  All in all the McCarthy road did not live up to the hype.  Roy can now say he drove it though.  Tomorrow off to Valdez and oil.