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Alaska Trip 2017' - Larson's Epic Adventure TR - (Part 4)

GpnAZ
Explorer
Explorer
July 17
We stayed at Eagle River State Park Campground last night, it was a nice little campground. We stopped in Eagle River for breakfast and headed for Glennallen. We're driving on Hwy 1 when we hit this hard expansion joint in the road and a "Throttle Control" light comes on and stays on and I can feel a loss of power and luckily our turnoff to Glennallen is close and after I turn off I start losing throttle power and I pull over on the first turnout. I decide to turn it off for about 10 minutes and start it back up and the light is no longer on and it ran just fine after that, weird!! We stopped in Palmer to get Peanut our dog groomed and picked up some groceries while we were waiting. We discovered our coat cabinet door in our camper had completely broke in half and part of it was laying on the bed, wow, how did that happen?? We stopped along Hwy 1 to photograph Matanuska Glacier and then eat lunch and take a nap.

On Highway 1, headed to Glennallen


Scenic views on Highway 1


Roadside stop on Highway 1 for lunch and a nap


View of Matanuska Glacier from Highway 1


Telephoto view of Matanuska Glacier from Highway 1


Coming into Glennallen we saw a True Value Hardware store, so we stopped and bought some clamps and wood glue to fix the cabinet door. We drove on to Copper Center to our campground there. We had seen a really cool old church in Copper Center to photograph, so we did that the next morning on our way to Valdez.

An old rustic country church near Copper Center


The road to Valdez was really rough and we stopped for construction along the way. We also stopped to photograph Worthington Glacier and some waterfalls along the way.


View of Worthington Glacier from Highway 4


Horsetail Falls from Highway 4


Bridalveil Falls right across the highway from Horsetail Falls


We get to Valdez and check into our campground and I proceed to clamp our cabinet door back together while Sue goes to do a little shopping. We decided to sign up for an 8 hour cruise to Meares Glacier. The next day we walk to a couple different museums in Valdez and learned how the 1964 earthquake affected Valdez and how they had to relocate the town 4 miles away from the original location, really interesting! Sue met with the dog walker that was going to check on Peanut in our camper while we went on our glacier cruise tomorrow. I installed our cabinet door back on the camper, almost as good as new!

The next day we're up early, eat breakfast and I call my daughter to wish her a happy birthday. We walk over to where the our boat is docked and get ready for departure. It was a beautiful scenic boat ride and we saw so much sea life; puffins, porpoises, whale, sea otters and seals! We got to see Meares Glacier calve a couple times, pretty spectacular!! We had a great lunch on the boat and they also served soup on the return ride back to Valdez.







View of Port Valdez from our boat


Two bald eagles watching over their nest


View of Port Valdez from our boat


Fishing boats with a view of an unknown glacier


Fishing boat in action in Port Valdez


Ms. Jennifer reeling in her catch


Beautiful glacier falls


Beautiful sculptures of glacier ice floes


Beautiful sculptures of glacier ice floes


Playful sea otter


Overly cute sea otter


View of Valdez Arm from our boat


View of Meares Glacier


Seals lounging on the glacial ice floes


A little calving action on Meares Glacier


Puffin on take off


Puffin, these are such cool birds


Puffins, I wished we could have gotten closer, but they spooked easy


Seals on a siesta, although there are a couple watching for trouble


Fishing boat in Prince William Sound


Unknown glacier near Valdez


The next morning we leave Valdez stopping at a little river on the edge of town so Sue can do a little gold panning. After a hour of no luck we walk back to the camper and while I am in back of the camper putting things away I hear Sue yell Bear! I jump out and run to the front where Sue and Peanut are in the front seat. She saw a bear after hearing Peanut growl about 20-30 feet away from them, but the bear turned tail and ran away after hearing her yell, I never saw it and kidded her it was probably a black lab dog. A minute later a hiker came by with her dog and said she had also saw a bear.

Funning with Sue, read the text on the picture


Highway 4 driving through Keystone Canyon


Highway 4 driving through Keystone Canyon


Highway 4 driving through Keystone Canyon


Beautiful views along Highway 4


Glacial views along Highway 4


Glacial views along Highway 4


Glacial views along Highway 4




We stopped at Worthington Glacier State Park and hiked up by the glacier and got a few pics, eat lunch and take a short nap. We headed towards Tok, our destination for tonight. With construction delays and really rough roads it took us 7 hours to drive approximately 250 miles.

Worthington Glacier State Park


The next morning we get up and eat at the campground cafe and end up talking to a couple gold miners who came into town to stock up, they had some pretty interesting stories! We head towards Haines Junction, BC. This had to be the roughest road in all our traveling, it took us about 10 hours to go 300 miles. We ended up staying at a little rest area right in town, it was convenient and right across the restaurant where we had dinner.

Construction along Highway 1 made for a dirty RV


Scenic views along Highway 1


Scenic views along Highway 1


Scenic views along Highway 1


Sue & Peanut at a roadside pullout on Highway 1


We cross into the U.S. again with no delays and get to Haines and check into our campground first thing. While Sue and Peanut walk into town to check it out I wash the truck and camper at the truck wash, it was filthy!!

Chilkoot River, Haines Alaska


Chilkat River, Haines Alaska


The next day we walk into Haines and visit all 3 museums in town, my favorite was the Hammer Museum, they had every hammer known to man there!

World's largest hammer, Hammer Museum, Haines Alaska


One of the many walls of hammers in the Hammer Museum, Haines Alaska


Next we walked to Fort Seward, what an interesting place and interesting history!






That afternoon we drove to Chilkoot Lake where the bears are suppose to hang out. They sure did, they were busy catching salmon and feasting on them and constantly on the move, moving from the lake to the river, we saw about 3 different ones.


Brown bear looking for salmon, Chilkoot Lake, Haines Alaska


Brown bear feeding on salmon, Chilkoot Lake, Haines Alaska




Brown bear on the Chilkoot River, Haines Alaska


Brown bear on Chilkoot River, Haines Alaska


Brown bear giving us the look, Chilkoot River, Haines Alaska


Chilkoot River, Haines Alaska


We went to the Southeast Alaska State Fair the first day that it opened, we should have waited until the second day as they didn't have a lot of stuff set up yet. It was fun to go to a small fair like that and see all the different exhibits.



The next day we took the High Speed Ferry to Skagway, we left Peanut with a dog sitter. We walked around Skagway, then saw a theater play, the Soapy Smith Theater Show, about the gold rush days, that was fun! After that we took an Auto Tour around Skagway, listening to some of the history of the town, it was pretty interesting. Too many cruise ship people for me, the town was busy, it was good to get back to Haines.





Skagway Alaska




Sue in front of the Auto Tour bus and cruise ship, Skagway Alaska








July 29th
We check out of our campground and poke around town for a few hours, watch the State Fair Parade come down Main Street. For lunch we go to one of our favorite restaurants in Haines, The Lighthouse, their halibut tacos were the best!! We go down to the Ferry dock about 4 pm to check in and get in line with the truck and camper. A little after 6 pm we load up and get settled in our seats on the top deck of the ferry, a pretty cool experience to us! We are headed to Juneau now which is about 2-3 hours away.

Driving into the belly of the ferry with our truck camper, Haines Alaska


I will be closing this trip report here, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
2018' RAM 3500 Laramie CC, DRW, 4X4, Cummins w/ Aisin transmission
2019' Host Mammoth, 480 watts of solar
2017' Jeep JKU Rubicon
2011' Airstream Avenue
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14 REPLIES 14

Ramp_Digger
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for all your work posting your trip. The wife and I enjoyed every picture. Alaska is an adventure all its own like no other. Our first trip up there was almost 30 years ago when we were first married. We tent camped and cooked most meals on an open fire or old coleman gas stove for 6 weeks. As I remember a lot of the roads were gravel or mud and dust. We used the 4 wheel drive in our old ford truck several times. Saw a grizzly bear chase some people, luckily they made it to their truck just in time. Panned gold and found some. Seen many of the same people traveling the alcan at different times and places and got to know them. We helped each other change tires and make minor repairs along the way. Met several of the local native people and learned all about living in the far north. For us Alaska was the greatest adventure of our lifetime.
05 dodge 3500 cummins diesel, 8.5 alaskan on flatbed

GpnAZ
Explorer
Explorer
whazoo - Thanks Dave, I wish I was the wordsmith like you and bka, I love that "Alaskatastic" because that is what it was!

bka0721 - Thanks Bryan, if I could write as eloquently as you I would probably have double the views of our trip report. You're right, the views were intoxicating and overwhelming at times and the biggest reason I am writing these trip reports is to go back and refresh my memory of our trip! It was a harsh reminder getting back to Phoenix of the traffic differences between Alaska and Phoenix!

ORbiker - You're right, it is an adventure and probably even more so on a motorcycle, but I just cannot imagine with all the rain...., no thanks! Glad you got your pictures fixed, always fun to look at!

Mello Mike - Thanks Mike for your comments! Don't wait too long, Alaska is like Lay's potato chips, you can't go just once!
2018' RAM 3500 Laramie CC, DRW, 4X4, Cummins w/ Aisin transmission
2019' Host Mammoth, 480 watts of solar
2017' Jeep JKU Rubicon
2011' Airstream Avenue
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpnusa
www.flickr.com/photos/gpnaz
www.flickr.com/photos/his_cross

Mello_Mike
Explorer
Explorer
Wow, Mark! Amazing photography and a great trip report. Alaska is still on my bucket list.
2016 Northstar Laredo SC/240w Solar/2-6v Lifeline AGMs/Dometic CR110 DC Compressor Fridge
2013 Ram 3500 4x4/6.7L Cummins TD/3.42/Buckstop Bumper with Warn 16.5ti Winch/Big Wig Rear Sway Bar/Talons w/SS Fastguns
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US Navy Ret.

ORbiker
Explorer
Explorer
Going to Alaska is not just a rv vacation. It's an adventure. You never know what you are going to see or what might happen (especially on a motorcycle).

I fixed the pics by skipping Photobucket. I have 1,000's of pictures in photobucket and they won't let you share them any more without paying a huge fee. Luckily I still have all the pictures on some thumb drives.
Backpacker and tent camper all my life. Motorcycle trips with a tent too 1978 to Present. 2016 Grand Design 380TH as of 10-29-2015. Now a New 2018 374TH-R Solitude as of 3-16-19. 10-19-18-traded truck for a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 Long Box.

bka0721
Explorer
Explorer
What an amazing journey we have had following along with you, Sue and Peanut on your Alaska Adventure! I just wonder if the landscapes you viewed became so overwhelming, just as a rich Chocolate Sundae can be? The scenery is just intoxicating and your photography is beautifully framing all of this. Enjoyed viewing the wildlife you were able to capture. But one thing one exceptionally impressive, the lack of motor vehicles on the highways, you and Sue traversed. Well, save for one way off in the distance in your shot of Keystone Canyon.

Waiting patiently for more!

b
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whazoo
Explorer
Explorer
Completely spectacular, Your truck and camper together is one of the best rigs I've ever seen. The pictures and places are something out of a dream. The trip report is Alaskatastic Mark!!

GpnAZ
Explorer
Explorer
Alabama Jim - Thanks for your comments!
work2much - I remember going by that campground and commenting that it looked like a nice place to stay
lucy6194 - Wow, 3 times, I hope we're that lucky to see Alaska that many times!
Nemo667 - Thanks Ben for your comments, I won't show you the 500 other windshield shots with one thing or another on them!
zb39 - Thanks for your comments!
c.traveler2 - We cruised right on by Matanuska, it was a long travel day that day, maybe next time and thank you for your comments!
ORbiker - Thanks for your comments and sounds like you had a nice trip also, unfortunately your photo isn't showing up
2018' RAM 3500 Laramie CC, DRW, 4X4, Cummins w/ Aisin transmission
2019' Host Mammoth, 480 watts of solar
2017' Jeep JKU Rubicon
2011' Airstream Avenue
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpnusa
www.flickr.com/photos/gpnaz
www.flickr.com/photos/his_cross

ORbiker
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for sharing all the great photos. Brings back some great memories of my motorcycle trip up to Fairbanks from Oregon. We went down to Haines to get on the ferry to go to Juno and Prince Rupert. We also went down to Valdez.







Updated
Backpacker and tent camper all my life. Motorcycle trips with a tent too 1978 to Present. 2016 Grand Design 380TH as of 10-29-2015. Now a New 2018 374TH-R Solitude as of 3-16-19. 10-19-18-traded truck for a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 Long Box.

c_traveler2
Nomad
Nomad
Great TR Mark, did you guy go down to Matanuska glacier and walk on it. There's camping right next to it. Your photography is as always of excellent quality!
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zb39
Explorer
Explorer
Spectacular pics, GREAT TR!! Thank you for taking the time to post this.
2017 Host mammoth, sold
49 states, 41 National Parks, 7 Provinces
2019 2 door Rubicon 6 spd.
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Nemo667
Explorer
Explorer
Awesome photography Mark and not one bug in those windshield shots. Thank you for posting.
2007 F-350 SRW 6.0L CC SB 4X4
2006 Outfitter Apex 8, 220W Solar and 3 AGM's
2013 Jeep Rubicon

lucy6194
Explorer
Explorer
We did almost same trip. Have visited 3 times. Love Alaska Haines a favorite place.

work2much
Explorer
Explorer
lol at hammer museum. We visited as well last summer. Even as a retired carpenter I could only take so many hammers and crappy music they play in the museum.

If in Haines AK and need a place to camp check out The Gathering Place private campground. Good times. We ended up staying almost a week when we stopped for just the day. Owners are fun to hang out with.
2022 Ram 3500 Laramie CTD DRW Crew 4x4 Aisin 4:10 Air ride.

2020 Grand Design Solitude 2930RL 2520 watts solar. 600ah lithium. Magnum 4000 watt inverter.

Alabama_Jim
Explorer
Explorer
Wow !! Great photos, thank you for sharing them. Have fun and be safe.