After leaving the comforts of Home Depot parking lot, we proceeded to the Seward Highway, and some fascinating scenery. The road hugs the edge of the Cooke Inlet, named after that famous English explorer, Captain Cooke, (who would have made Admiral, but he was murdered by some Hawaiians.)
Anyway, this drive is great. The railroad is just down to the right, between the road and the shore, and the train goes even slower than me, must be piloted by Corporal Cautious!
The tide was out, and there are warnings against going on the wide mud flats at low tide, coz it turns to quicksand, and can suck you down in a flash!!
So, we didn’t go on the mud flats.
At the right time, Beluga whales can be seen coming in with the tide, but we was there at the wrong time.
We got to the campsite that had been booked for over a month, only to find that our allocated space was taken, and was not going to be available. It was actually the best of the lot, so we were miffed. The owner offered to let us have another space, then move when the occupants of our space decided to leave, but by that time we had agreed that the campsite was pretty crap, on the only stretch of 4 lane highway south of Anchorage, so we told them we would be back after we drove around for a while.
We went up the road for about 2 miles, and, Marlipops came up trumps yet again. We are settled into Real Alaskan Cabins and RV Park. We are backed into a delightful space, with full hook ups, totally surrounded by trees. With the wind rustling the leaves, it is 100% peaceful. And, the price here is cheaper than the other site.
So, we went back to the first place and told them where to stick their campsite!
You have to realize that this area is full of rivers and creeks, and the salmon are just starting to run for the spawning season, so July is the busiest month down here, and we were lucky to get this place, Actually, it was all down to the smooth charm of Marlipops.
The weather was pretty terrible when we got up this morning, we couldn’t see a single mountain, but as we drove south, the skies gradually cleared, giving us views of the V and U shaped valleys between the mountains, and all the glaciers.
Note. When you look at the pix, do not confuse the train with the yellow peril. The train is the one with Alaska written on the side.
Captain Cautious had a haircut, courtesy of Marlipops, but the beard remains untouched.
Wildlife watch today was bald Eagles ( boring!), Dall sheep, so high up the mountainside, with his rear end hanging so far over the edge it was a wonder he didn’t fall off, magpies, seagulls and a ground squirrel.
