Friday, June 27, 2008

 

We woke up to a light rain again today so breakfast in bed again.  Hope this breakfast in bed thing doesn’t become a new trend in the family.

 

This morning we packed up the camper but before we left town we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward where scientists study the sea life in that area.  They rehabilitate marine wildlife and then return them to their natural habitat. There were several gigantic aquariums with glass sides so we could see stellar sea lions, sea otters, seals, shrimp, jelly fish, octopus and all kinds of fish and sea floor wildlife.  One area was a swallow aquarium where we could touch many kinds of ocean bottom dwellers like starfish, crabs, sea urchins, and sea anemones.  The sea anemones would suck on our fingers a little bit and sometimes not want to let go.  There were live videos of sea life around Seward of areas and animals that the scientists were studying and they had large monitors so we could see the animals too.  Today harbor seals were on the live video.  They were having babies and the scientists were monitoring their lives.  We got to see male, female and baby harbor seals at their rockery.  This SeaLife Center was worth the stop and price to see and learn about Alaska marine life.  The Exxon Valdez Oil as part of their restoration project funded the SeaLife Center after their major oil spill. 

 

Going to the SeaLife Center was the last thing we were going to do with our cousins before going our separate ways.  Our cousins will stay in Alaska for a while longer and we are making our way to the ferry ride back to the lower 48 states.  We said our goodbyes in the lobby of the SeaLife Center.  It was much like a Walton’s TV show moment; you know goodbye John boy, goodbye Maryellen...we gave lots of hugs and kisses to our cousins.  After Chris finished giving hugs to all the cousins and his aunt and uncle, he grabbed what he thought was his little sister Sarah and gave her a big hug.  “Sarah” looked up at Chris just as Chris realized that it wasn’t Sarah; no it was the girl at the front gift counter and she was looking at him like what in the world are you doing.  He quickly apologized and tried to explain that he thought she was his sister.  Luckily for Chris, Sarah was there and the girl could see that Sarah had the same hair color, same hair length and was about her height but she was probably Chris’ age. Chris doesn’t very often get embarrassed but today he did.  We all laughed hysterically; some even cried they were laughing so hard…so glad the cousins were there and got to have a good laugh before we parted ways. The girl told Chris that made her day.  

 

On the way to Anchorage we got to drive by Turnagain Arm and the water was much higher than it had been a few days ago.  When we were almost to Anchorage (we could see the first highway exit for Anchorage), we had a flat tire on the trailer so Tim and Chris got out and changed the tire while the girls prayed for their safety.  The road was only a two lane road with a lot of traffic both directions.  They got the tire changed safely and off we went to Anchorage to get the spare tire fixed.  The Wal-Mart’s in Alaska are not as big as the Wal-Mart’s we are used to and they don’t sell tires or do any repairs so we went looking for a tire store.  Of course it was about closing time and one store would sell the tire but the part of their shop that would put the tire on the wheel was closed so we went on a search to find someone who had the tools to help us out.  We finally found a Chevron service center that could do the work and we were back on the road ready for more sights.

 

From Anchorage we drove Alaska Highway 1 to Palmer thru the Mat-su Valley and then into the wild North Country on the Glenn Highway.  Once again, we were amazed at the scenery.  We never get tired of the snow and tree covered mountains and huge valleys with raging streams. 

 

As we were driving between Palmer and Glenallen, we had a great view of Matanuska Glacier.  It is 23 miles long and up to 4 miles wide at some points.  The land it had carved was almost as impressive as the glacier itself.  At this point we are driving through the glaciated Chugach Mountains

 

We were delayed a little while some dynamiting work was taking place.  A sign said the road was closed every day between 6 a.m. and noon.  We were glad we were making our way through when we did; a 6-hour delay would be no fun, but we rarely are driving that early!

 

As I am writing this, Deaune is tracking down a mosquito near where I am laying.  She has become quite good at this.  Where we are staying tonight there are only a few mosquitoes, and overall they have not been as bad as anticipated.  The place we stayed on Wednesday and Thursday nights they were bad, and loved to check us out when we were preparing food.

 

Tonight we traveled until 10:30, and are staying at the nicest little spot yet.  It is called Slide Mtn. RV Park.  It is spotless, grassy, and surrounded by mountains.  The gentleman running the place said last night it got down to 23 degrees!  We have electricity, so we w/stay warm.  The shower is nicer than ours at home, and they even provide towels at no additional charge.  We wish we had found a place like this when we were traveling w/our relatives, but maybe next time….

 

Tomorrow it looks like we w/be traveling through more gorgeous landscapes as we head into the Wrangell Mountains.  The guy here at the campground said it is the second highest mountain in North America, and is constantly wrapped in clouds – he has lived here over 40 years and has only seen it clearly once!  Interesting side note – this gentleman lives in Alaska May thru August, and then spends the rest of the year in Thailand.  He and his wife own a resort area there, so he splits his time between the two.  He was fun to talk to, and very hospitable.