From nature to city! After a few days spent in the Denali National Park and its vast wilderness, we head to the largest city in Alaska: Anchorage.
Friday, July 22, 2022
Even under the greyness, the landscapes are still nice 😛 It's quite a roadtrip to drive through Alaska. We drive slowly, enjoying the landscapes and the wildlife and we stop frequently to soak up this immense wilderness. We are lucky and grateful to be here!
We spend the evening and night in the Denali South Viewpoint parking lot, hoping the clouds would clear in the evening or early morning 🤞. No luck, unfortunately. We can't see anything pass that thick layer of clouds and despite all our prayers, Denali won't show up today.
Saturday, July 23
We arrive in Talkeetna in the late morning. We read that it was a typical city. According to us, it's rather touristic! There are all kinds of excursions to discover Alaska, from all-terrain vehicles to rafting and plane and helicopter tours.
We spend the afternoon at the library to catch up some work. Then, at the end of the afternoon, we leave for Anchorage, 113 miles (180 kms) south. It's the most populated city in Alaska: nearly 300 000 inhabitants. We find a spot to sleep near the city center, on the parking lot of a city park, near a pond. There are some strange people. We hesitate to leave and go to sleep at the Cabela's, a big store that accepts overnight stays in its parking lot, but a campervan arrives. Marie-Thérèse and Brian, a French-American couple from Seattle, noticed our Quebec plate and park next to us! We spend the evening discussing on the parking lot, where we finally stay to sleep. Or how a beautiful meeting can transform a creepy evening into a beautiful moment 😍
Sunday, July 24
We like cities, but not too much. That's why we decide to spend only one day in Anchorage. During that day, we have to visit the most emblematic places of the city, do some groceries, laundry, gas and wash the Jeep. Big plan! We get up early, I even have time to run in the park. What we didn't expect? The magic of meeting people! We spend most of the morning discussing with Marie-Thérèse and Brian, who even end up cooking us breakfast and... well take the sausages, they are really good! 😅 Thanks again friends!!! What a pleasure to chat with you 😄
At 10am, we go to the market. We read it was a huge market of 200 stands but it's actually a pretty little market.
We then go to Lake Hood Seaplane Base, a must-see in Anchorage. It's the busiest seaplane base in the world! No wonder, as more than half of Alaska is only accessible by plane. Let's go for a photo shooting of the take-offs and water landings! An event takes place in the nearby aviation museum and the pilots are entertaining the audience: passing at full speed in front of us, landing and taking off again straight after and flying in low altitude. Quite a show!
We then go for a walk in some of the city's parks. There are nearly 200 parks in Anchorage, from the smallest neighborhood park to the largest park, Kincai Park, on the outskirts of the city, where it's possible to see bears and moose. At Earthquake Park, we learn that Anchorage was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1964. The park also offers a beautiful view on Downtown and on... Look what's here! Denali! Yes, there, in the background, in the mist! What a joke! We unsuccessfully waited for it on the most beautiful viewpoints of the road! And now that we weren't expecting it, it shows up!
Now is time for logistics! Today's priority is to wash the Jeep! It's quite dirty and over time, dirt doesn't do any good. The carwash also offers free vacuum service, so we vacuum the inside of the Jeep for the first time in more than two months. What a dream, to clean the house only once every two months, isn't? We enjoy it! 😁 We then go to the supermarket and it gives us an appetite. This evening, we go in a restaurant that we have been dreaming for a long time: an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Well, actually, there is no Chinese restaurant in town, so we opt for a Mongolian buffet. Very good. And after that, it's time to give JP its first medals!
It's almost 10pm when we hit the road to get out of the city. We are driving past the industrial area of Anchorage, near the Cabela's, a hunting and fishing store. All of a sudden, Remi exclaims: "A moose! A huge moose!" I look at it and I don't think it's any bigger than the ones we've seen before. Then, I turn my head and I see another huge moose! With antlers! Incredible! We have been looking for it for weeks and weeks. And we find it here, in the industrial area of Anchorage. Did he get lost? We can't believe it!
On the road, we stop by the river to watch the fishermen catching salmons. The Pacific salmon migration has started! The salmon go up the rivers to reproduce and die in the place where they were born. It's quite a journey for them, and a great opportunity for the fishermen who are having a great time.
The road takes us inside the Fjord. The tide is low and the scenery is incredible, despite the overcast sky. We suddenly run into Marie-Thérèse and Brian! What a small world Alaska is! 😄 We settle together near the Fjord, under a heavy rain and big wind.
Monday, July 25
As forecasted this morning, the weather is stormy. The only thing we want is lay down on the couch with a plaid and binge-watch series all day long. The only problem? We live in a Jeep and we don't have a sofa! Marie-Thérèse and Brian invite us kindly in their campervan, where we spend hours chatting and drinking coffee. When we finally leave, it's already noon!
We spend the day in the small town of Girdwood, where we wash our clothes, take a hot shower and enjoy free WiFi in the laundromat. A perfect rainy day! In the late afternoon, the weather starts to get better and we drive in the heights of Girdwood, between glaciers and gold claims.
We then head to Whittier. This small fishing village is located at the end of the Fjord. Whittier can be reached only through a tunnel of 3 miles (4,8 kms). It's only one way, so all the traffic plus the train share the same road! Next traffic is in 40 minutes. It's 8pm and we decide to cook our dinner on the parking lot. Soon enough, a RV parks near us. Four men get out of it. They came in Alaska to fish, as many other tourists. We have been discussing for 5 minutes and one of them asks: "Do you like salmon?" Oh yes, we do like salmon! "I will give you one!" Seriously? It's extremely nice, but we don't know how to prepare it! He reassures us: it's already prepared, we only have to cook it. He takes out of a cooler a big fillet of salmon and gives it to us! They fished 23 salmons today! Wow! It's so unexpected and so nice. We thank them thousand times. We're in for a treat! 😋
We arrive in Whittier around 10pm. We settle on the heights of the village, with an incredible view on the glacier.
We think about taking the tent out but we finally decide to sleep in the car. A wise decision, because a rude awakening awaits us! Tomorrow and for the next few days, we will take our first steps on the beautiful and very touristic Kenai peninsula.
1 commentaire
Bonjour les enfants,
Beaux paysages … et belles rencontres !!!
Je suppose que le saumon devait être très bon : pêché, mangé.
Bisous. Mamie.