1700 Mile Alaskan Loop!

 We started our 2-day loop drive at North Pole, Alaska just southeast of Fairbanks.  It is a cute little town with a large, Santa Clause House gift shop.  Santa greeted us warmly and gave us information to help us find the roadhouse with renown pie.  The reindeer were safely resting in shade behind the double wire fence.

 Our next stop was another look at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline which follows the Richardson Highway all the way south to Valdez.  Our goal for the day is to make it to Valdez on the coast and see as much as we can in between.

 The mountains and scenery were spectacular.  When we got farther south, we stopped by the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Visitors' Center.  It is the nation's largest park with 13.2 million acres and nine of North America's sixteen highest peaks.  The park itself is only accessible by two dirt roads which enter the area for only a short distance.  If people want to go into the park, they need to pay tour companies to take them in with special equipment or see it from the air.

 This is a little Native Village we drove around. There are various tribes throughout Alaska.  It is doubt that this area could have been explored or settled at all without their help and expertise.

 Here is a fishingwheel used by the natives for their sustenance fishing. Steve always loves machinery.

 We had another delicious dinner with a salmon sandwich and wonderful seafood chowder at this restaurant in the Copper River Valley. It is one of the lodges and restaurants owned and managed by Princess Cruiselines.

 Just north of Valdez we crossed over Thompson Pass and saw fabulous glaciers including Worthington Glacier and amazing waterfalls.  Valdez is a quaint little harbor town where the fishing is king.  It is also the port where the pipeline ends and the oil is put on ships for further transport. 

 We hoped to see the salmon coming to spawn but the tides were out.  We did see bald eagles and otters on the receding tidal areas.

 There are lots of churches in this small town including this LDS chapel.

 As we walked around the harbor in the morning, we saw a family cleaning their salmon catch at a local cleaning station. 

 The weather was perfect on Friday-sunny and in the 70's.  This enabled us to see the mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, etc. without clouds.  When we woke up this morning in Valdez, it was totally cloudy.  We were so happy we had arrived the evening before when we could see the mountains all around us.  It is a beautiful little harbor inlet. We had to head back about 160 miles on the same road.  We left Valdez in the clouds and ran into dense fog on top of Thompson Pass.  As soon as we started down the pass and broker through the fog, we had instant sunshine.  It lasted the rest of the day.  The change was so sudden, it was a shock. For the next 6 hours as we circled back towards Anchorage, we saw a many, many bicycle riders.  There was a 400 mile ride going on.  We don't know how long they have been riding.  The mountain climbs were extremely challenging.  We just kept thinking of family members who like to bike.  It looked so difficult to us.

 We were told by one of the road construction flaggers, yesterday to be sure to stop at the Freeze in Glennallen.  So on our way back to Anchorage, we stopped for a shake.  We laughed that they serve hamburgers and food.  Steve thought the shake was okay, but not great.  The price was great.  Things are really expensive in Alaska.

 I loved the many fuscia colored wildflowers that were along the roadways.  Steve laughed that I took so many pictures trying to get even one that showed the brilliance and consistency of the flowers.  This one doesn't do that, but at least you can see them on both sides of the road at the same time.

 One of our favorite places which as little town about 30 miles east of Wasilla, named Palmer.  We stopped at their local visitors center.  They were having an art and garden festival.  It was really delightful.  I would have loved to purchase some of their starter plants for my garden.  I figure if they will grow in Alaska, they will grow in the foothills of home.

 Rhubarb is a very popular plant here.  Apparently it is hardy and grows well.  They make a lot of pies and other baked goods with it.  I resisted the temptation to purchase a cookbook but I really liked the the tart/sweet flavor of the pie I had.

 Steve saw a lot of old equipment displayed around the visitors' center.  There were several items he used as a boy growing up.  He remembered using a similar fertilizer spreader so I made him pose for a picture so the kids and grandkids could see one.

When we arrived back in Anchorage, we checked out the marketplace again but they were closing up.  We went to Earthquake Park which commemorates the devastating earthquake of 1964 which completely destroyed Steward and Valdez and did serious damage to Anchorage.  It was peaceful place and a nice way to end our visit to Alaska.  It was also crowded with mosquitoes which we are happy to leave behind.  We've had a wonderful trip but I know Steve is tired from all of the driving.  Alaska is a big state.  Our pictures don't do justice to the exquisite beauty we have seen. We are really grateful that we got to see so much of this incredible state.  However, I think that we are ready for home!