Alaskamarge Travels

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned why I’m hanging out at a middle school for the summer, so I’ll explain.

The Anchorage School District has a Camper Host program much like those of the National Forests, National Parks, State Parks etc.  What happens is, folks with motorhomes get to stay at a particular place for free including utilities and dumping/pumping services in exchange for various chores like fee collection, security, and/or minor maintenance/janitorial work.  It is a great way for people traveling up here in their RV’s to save on expenses.  All the ASD expects of me is my presence which they have determined will reduce summer vandalism of this and other area schools where camper hosts reside.  What a deal. 

I had my first visitor at my new summer home this morning.  My good friend Marilyn.  Leave it to Marilyn to think of climbing the ladder to check out the roof before anything else.  Say hello to Marilyn everyone!

In addition to receiving my first visitor, today’s activities included about 7 hours of Census work (yes, Census enumerator is one of my many hats) and confirming my June reservations for Denali National Park.  How exciting.  I’ll be taking Dora, the hound dogs, and my best Buddy-Bear, Aaron (age 10) up to Denali for 5 days.  I can’t wait.  Wonder Lake is on my bucket list, so it’ll be great to finally get all the way back there (it’s almost 90 miles in, I’ve only been to mile 29).  The weather is still particularly sunny.  Hope it holds for my friends from Florida who are flying in on Monday.

Stay tuned.  BTW, for those of you emailing me and not receiving responses…I’m having trouble with outgoing mail at the moment.  My apologies.

Even though I’ve had my new house for almost two weeks, I had yet to spend the night in it until last night.  It dawned on me that I was a bit scared of it, which I think is why I’d been putting off actually moving in.  Well, with Devin back, there was no choice.  I either had to move in and begin living in my new house or…I don’t know….become homeless or move in with another friend or something equally as silly. 

It’s the “systems” that scare me.  There are 3 main systems.  I think.  Who knows, there may be more, but these are the ones I know about at the moment:  (1)the electrical system including battery power, regular or “shore” power, and generator power, (2)the water/septic system, including multiple fresh, grey, black tanks and drains, knobs and hoses, and (3)the propane system, which can explode.  In addition to these “systems”, there are myriad associated and unassociated appliances to be reckoned with along with determining the appropriate type of power for each: the range and oven, the microwave, the water heater and water pump, the furnace and A/C units, TV antennae, inverter, DVD player, the refrigerator, the toilets, the shower, the automatic hydraulic jacks and slides. 

I’m sure they are all very simple and easy once one knows how, but until one crosses over into the world of knowledge, one can find them daunting.

Having survived the first night without blowing anything up, I am proud to report that I have used and flushed a toilet, manipulated the StarTrek style thermostat to successfully turn on the heat,  heated water in a kettle on the stove for this morning’s coffee and have disinfected the fresh water system and have filled the tanks. 

There are many more things I have to learn, but I feel much more confident today than I was yesterday.  I am grateful to have all the time in the world (insert, until August) to become completely familiar with my new house.

My plan of  “firsts” for tomorrow is to go get the propane tank filled, fill the gas tank with gas, and tackle shore power.  How to go from a 20amp outlet, to a 30 amp adaptor, to a 50 amp surge protector, to my house.  Hmmmmmmm.  Wish me luck!

Below is a photo of my house at Carol’s house.  I’ll be here until the 21st, at which time I’ll move down the road to my home for the summer.

After numerous suggestions from my many readers, (I think there are 6 of you), I am posting the photo of Pearl along with the story behind the photo.  Pearl thanks you for your recognition and will be available for autographs soon.

As many of you know, I have been living at Devin’s house while she and her non-husband traipse around the lower 48 for 8-10 weeks.  This tied in beautifully with my situation since I had rented my house and had no particular place to live until I found a motorhome.  In exchange for lovely mountainside accommodations at Chez Devin, I was to water plants, take in mail, and play companion to her delightful standard poodle, Pearl.  

Misty, Mosely, Pearl, and I enjoyed a fabulous 2 1/2 months together and were expecting Devin back on Sunday.  Those of you who know me, know I am  procrastinater extraordinaire AND am the Oscar of the Felix and Oscar Odd Couple.  Given this, you can image the state I was in when Devin texted Wednesday saying she would be home Friday instead of Sunday.  Boy howdy did I shift into high gear and after 12 hours of packing and cleaning on Thursday and another 8 on Friday, I had pretty much removed all signs of my presence leaving behind a clean, cyclone-free home.  Whew!

Throughout all of the hubbub, the dogs were getting increasingly nervous as those of you with pets will understand.  Bring out the packing boxes and/or suitcases and our four-legged friends go on high alert and don the most pitiful of wary faces.  All three dogs were underfoot constantly during every trip from home to motorhome and back again.  No one was about to be left behind, that’s for sure.  It was Pearl who came up with the best plan ever.  Being the smartest of the group and I include myself in the group, she realized she didn’t have to keep following me back and forth, but could stake out a prime position and therefore keep tabs on things without moving.  A well-chosen position would guarantee she would go where ever I went.  Being the critical thinker she is, she chose the driver’s seat of my new house!  What a smart girl.  As you can imagine, her plan worked beautifully.  She was never left alone, but was handed over personally to Devin upon her return.

Well let’s begin by saying, “Happy Birthday to me”!      Why, thank you!

The weekend in Cordova was wonderful even though the shorebirds were early this year and had already come and gone by the time we got there.  Fortunately the three of us were less interested in birdwatching than just enjoying  a great weekend exploring Cordova.  We did see a few dozen winged stragglers, which was nice, but the big hit of the weekend was the sun.  It went over with us from Whittier and stayed with us until we left.  This is unusual for coastal Alaska and was most welcome and much commented upon.  I believe the general consensus (at least among the less avid bird watchers) was, who cares about the birds, we had sun!

Cordova, on Prince William Sound, is not on the Alaska road system and can only be reached by boat or plane.  It has one main road which is about 50 miles long and which connects the town and harbor to the “Million Dollar Bridge” aka “The Bridge to Nowhere”.   (this is where I’d insert a link to facts about the bridge and area mining history for those interested in additional info, but I don’t know how to insert a link yet, so this is all you get at the moment) Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of seeing the bridge and nearby Childs Glacier as the road has been blocked by deep snow both times I have tried to get out there.  You’ll see what I mean by deep snow in the attached photo showing a section of road plowed through  38 feet of snow.  I guess the plow got tired as it stopped plowing at that point and we had to turn around.  

During our exploration of the town and surrounding area we saw tons of cool scenery and animals like:  Whales, Dall Porpoise, Tundra Swans, Bald Eagles, Sea Otters, Sea Lions, Harlequin Ducks, Glaciers, Mountains, etc.  I guess the big hit was when we were walking along the Alaganik Slough and we saw a large wave and loud rushing noise coming toward us.  What is it?  Is it a plane?  Is it a bore tide?  Goodness, we were perplexed.  Then we saw some sort of moving brown animal inside the “tide” that was rushing up the Slough.  Turns out it was 7 sea lions chasing Hooligan.   Hooligan are a small oily fish sort of like sardines, but larger.  Wow, what a sight.  The water was in complete turmoil and the noise was surprisingly loud.  Guess you had to have been there, but it was way cool. 

I’ve included  some photos below for your viewing pleasure.  If you put your cursor over the photos, a short description with appear.  Enjoy!

Since my plan is to stay in Alaska for the summer and since this may be my last summer up here for a few years, I came up with a bucket list.  For those of you who don’t know what  a bucket list is, it’s a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket”…or in this case, before I leave the State. 

I’ll be taking the ferry over to Cordova later today to attend the Annual Shorebird Festival.  This is celebration of sorts honoring all the migrating shorebirds who are currently heading from their winter homes as far as 1500 miles away up to the Arctic where they will nest and raise their young.  They will be in Cordova by the thousands resting and eating as much as they can before departing on their final push to points North.  I attended several years ago and have always wanted to go back, so here I go.  Cordova is also the “site” of the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill.   21 years later, this affected portion of the once pristine Prince William Sound has yet to recover and so the Cordova and surrounding  fishing industries have yet to rebound.

More when I return on Monday. 

Other items on my bucket list you may be interested to know are:  canoeing the Kenai Canoe Trail System, hiking the Kesugi Ridge Trail, hiking the Chilkoot Trail, and climbing O’Malley Peak via the ridgeline.  I hope to take lots of trips and have lots of adventures before heading south in August/September, so stay tuned.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Having no access to a hose at the moment and no desire to find a hose with which to wash my house myself (with water hovering just above the freezing mark),  I took my house to have it washed by people who do this kind of thing.  In my enthusiasm of new home ownership, I felt I should wax it to get things started out on the right foot.  Don’t ask my why.  I’ve never waxed anything in my life.  But the idea took hold and there was no turning back. 

Being a novice in the arena of waxing,  I read the instructions on the can and was told to begin with a clean, dry surface…hence the house washing.  Four hours after the first dab of wax was applied,  I am proud to report that I have waxed exactly one side of my house.  After so much effort, I thought I’d take a picture to show the remarkable before and after difference, but alas, I am sorry to say there is no difference whatsoever.   I’m not sure waxing is all its cracked up to be and am seriously considering not waxing the other half.  I mean…who would know?

I waxed.  My arms waned.

The deed is done.  

I have a new home.      

It has wheels. 

Let the adventure begin.