July 1 Day 29
55°
Miles to travel this day 244
It was a rainy day when we departed the Nanana River valley
canyon heading south towards Anchorage. I got pretty wet getting us ready to depart. We had hopes of being able to get other views of Mt. McKinley on the way
south. Those hopes began to diminish with the fog and rain we shortly
encountered. But the plus thing was that the weather where we were, was
not going to get any better.
Daisy was still not on the well list and I was
beginning to share some of her symptoms.
We originally wanted to stop in Talkeetna. But so did everyone else it
seemed. All, and I mean all,
available camping spots and campsites were taken. It seems as if the town was
having a local celebration at the time we decided to visit. So we decided to keep
on trucking to Anchorage.
As we journeyed south we encountered multiple roadside information sites depicting Denali (if we could see it) and the history of Alaska. So of course we stopped at all the hard surfaced ones.
This one wanted to educate us that due to the situation that Denali was the result of one tectonic plate riding up on another that the mountain was actually growing 3/4 of a inch each year....
The next area focused on the the unsettled relationship of the USSR and the USA since WWII. Alaskans were concerned about the build up of ballistic missiles in the lower 48 and the flight path put them right in the middle.
Did you know that during the Civil War the Confederacy waged war in the Bering sea trying to impact the North's income from the whaling industry that was supporting the Union's war efforts?
The next rest area focused on the 8,000 military aircraft we loaned Russia to fight Germany in eastern Europe.
The Alaska Territorial Guard was formed to allow the United States the means to identify further potential incursions of the Japanese in Alaska along the vast coastline of the territory. There was some initial controversy in recruiting and arming Alaska Natives as at the time there was legal and social segregation by race across Alaska. They served without pay and were driven by patriotism.
There were 6,368 known enrollees.
At Dutch harbor a Zero was shot down and recovered intact that would give the USA a great insight in the capability of this close air support fighter that was wreaking havoc with allied forces in the Pacific.
This wayside area was to commemorate the only land battle
fought in North America during WWII. It was the Battle of Attu. Attu is the
westernmost piece of American territory in the Aleutian Islands about 1,100
miles from the Alaskan mainland and only 750 miles from Japanese Kurile Islands.
I
did not know that this battle was second to Iwo Jima as the bloodiest fighting during
WWII.
As the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage had several campgrounds
to choose from so we selected one that had access to the city bus system.
Trying to drive and park the truck camper in a metropolitan area would have
been doable, but would not have been a wise thing to do. We laid out a master plan and selected the
Golden Nugget RV Park for our base of operations. 
No sooner had we parked and set up than I
immediately commence to take my turn at being sick. So we changed our plan after grocery shopping
and decided to anchor in and get well. Besides, the weather wasn't really cooperating. It was cool and damp.July 5 Day 33
After a several of days hanging close to the RV, we decided to get out of the house. Our first excursion was to take a narrated, history trolley tour around the city. We took the city bus into central downtown to the city information center, which is a sod-roofed cabin. There we got on a trolley bus that would serve as our tour mobile for the 15 mile journey. Jody, our guide, a third generation Alaskan, told us stories about the historic places we visited and her life in Alaska. She ended up our trip with a serenade highlighting our visit and the places we saw. She has a great voice and it was also a neat way to set up for the tips she deserved.
Anchorage got its start as a tent city on the shores of Ship
Creek in 1915 (it's not that old). It is located in south-central Alaska, nestled between
the Chugach Mountains to the east and the shoreline of the Cook Inlet to the
west. Anchorage is unique in its establishment. Unlike every other large town
in Alaska south of the Brooks Range, It was neither a fishing nor mining camp
at its establishment. The town was originally settled to support railroad construction.
Nowadays nearly half of Alaska’s 600,000 residents live in Anchorage area. The
municipality of Anchorage stretches nearly 50 miles, roughly the size of
Delaware.
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| Crossroads of the world |
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| Sod-roofed cabin surrounded by concrete |
Float planes are a way of life in Alaska, which is the state least
accessible by road. One of our stops was at Lake Hood, which is three miles from downtown Anchorage. Lake Hood is the busiest seaplane base in
the world, handling an average of 190 flights per day.
This is the only place that I have been in the US where the lights at the intersections allow taxiing aircraft to cross the road too. Alaska has a close relationship and long history with the float plane. It has been instrumental in the exploration and development of hard to reach places throughout the state. Alaska claims to have the highest number of pilots per capita of any U.S. state. Our guide stated that she knew how to fly before she got her driver's license.
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| Park your airplane and go to town to shop. |
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| Did this back in? |
Alaska’s native people are divided into
11 cultures, speaking 11 different languages and 22 different dialects.
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| Free shuttle from info center |
In the cultural center we got an introduction to indigenous cultures by: observing native games and dances, listening to storytelling, and talking to the craftspeople and artisans.
I found the demonstration of these native games most
intriguing. Especially when I heard that there is a World Eskimo Indian Olympics
exhibiting these games. I discovered that two bush pilots, the late A.E. Bud Hagberg and Frank Whaley, witnessed
the Native games and dances in their village travels. They grew concerned that
the traditional events would be lost as western ways seeped into the villages.
They helped organize the first Olympics in 1961.
The Ear Pull
One of the most popular and difficult games, the two-foot high kick, also reflects this kind of practical origin. Competitors leap into the air from a standing position, keeping both feet together at all times, and kick a softball-sized sealskin ball perched on a string up to eight feet high. Both feet must touch the floor simultaneously upon landing. This game originated in coastal whaling villages when, after taking a whale, hunters would jump and kick both feet in the air to signal to villagers in the distance to come help with the catch.
Kneel Jump
Consists of an athlete kneeling behind a line, sitting on his heels. The athlete then leaps forward from a kneeling position, landing on both feet simultaneously and remaining in that position without moving his feet or using his hands to maintain balance. Each athlete is allowed three jumps. The winner is the athlete who jumps the farthest. This game was used by the hunter to develop quick movements and success in jumping from ice floe to ice floe.
Each athlete begins in a lowered push up position (bent elbows tucked close to the body, first knuckles down, and hands having fingers curled underneath so that the individual is supported by the heel of his hand and first knuckles). The athlete then remains in this position and hops across the floor on hands and toes only. The winner is the athlete who travels the farthest without stopping. This game originated from the hunter imitating the movement of a seal during the hunt. The game is to see how far one can go on determination and endurance.
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| Haida House Post |
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| Eyak House Post |
Outside we did a self guided tour of the replicated villages and viewed full-sized traditional Native dwellings that reflected the relationship the people who lived here had with the local natural resources that they used.
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| Tsimshiam House Post |
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| Tlingit House Post |
It said a lot about how they related to the land and adapted to the often harsh environments they existed in.
Watercraft of the Peoples. It is said that there is no curve without a reason in its design and construction.
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| The grey whale |
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| The Qasgig:Men's house |
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| The Ena:Woman's family house |
Timbered Inland culture lodging and out buildings
We took the shuttle back downtown and toured the Anchorage Museum which also featured an exhibit on the 1964 earthquake and a great one on Alaskan art. We walked back toward the city bus station and had an early dinner at Humpy’s. We decided to splurge and had an Alaskan beer, oysters, halibut tacos and what was called a “crabby patty” which was supposed to have been made with king crab. It had been recommended by a lady on the shuttle bus who said she was from Maryland. Well, the best thing about the meal was the beer. We were looking forward to getting closer to the coast and more "mom and pop" food offerings. Maybe it was because I had forgotten to bring any cold pills, but I was wiped out by the time we made the city bus trip back to the RV park.
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| Halibut taco |
On day 34 of our journey we slept late in the morning, did
laundry, and read. Nothing exciting but satisfactory for this cold rainy day and
evening. BTW, just after we got to
Anchorage our refrig went out of commission. On day 35, we went to an RV repair
shop to get our refrigerator attended to. The burner tube was clogged and had
to be cleaned out and rust removed. Total cost was $175. It was time to move
on. We called our friends Lee and Dee that we had met on the road in Texas.
They have a place on the Kenai Peninsula. That would be our next stop.
