Two months on the road!
It seems a lot longer than that, yet it was only at the beginning of June we were in Arizona, and we have been in Alaska, on and off, since the beginning of July. Time really does fly when you are having fun!
We had a lazy morning, watching the magpies fight in the trees, and taking care of household chores. Marlipops made a fantastic dip, using mayonnaise, left over halibut and other stuff, which was delish on Ritz crackers.
We wandered down to Seward, found the local library where WiFi access is available freely, and had a light lunch in a Bistro which had been featured in the Anchorage Daily Rag.
Do not believe all you read in newspapers!
The place was all polished wood, even the bench seats, the food was lukewarm, and the salad Marlipops ordered was missing half the ingredients, so we had to send it back. The service was mediocre, so we were not impressed. The waitress was probably not impressed with the tip we left either. We reckon the newspaper reporter was bribed, or drunk or something.
We then were drawn to the harbor, where there was a bunch of activity, fisherists and tourists and boatists all returning with, or without, their catch of the day. We saw a few big halibut, and a lot of salmon. This harbor is unlike a lot we have seen. All fish cleaning and filleting has to be done at a central area, where all the fish remains fall down into a big tank, probably 20 ft by 6 ft, which has netting all round it, to prevent seagulls, eagles and other scavengers of the sky from getting at the scraps. Supposebly, (remember the word from yesterday? Just keeping you on your toes) this prevents a big build up of birds, and more importantly, bird crap, which is highly corrosive, and can burn holes in your boat faster than the creature from Alien!
The scraps are then taken out to sea and dumped, where they are recycled by the denizens of the deep!
Makes you think, though, if the fish bits are eaten by other fish, which are then caught, and those fish are then recycled back to the sea, how many times is the same fish caught and recycled, and more importantly, how many times has the fillet that you keep been eaten??
One tale from yesterday, which I forgot to relate, is the rush hour traffic.
We were merrily driving down to our campsite from Anchorage, a pleasant journey along the winding coastal road, admiring the views, and around six o’clock, it was as though someone had turned on a tap and emptied the city. We were surrounded and overtaken by all sorts of trucks, cars, campers and trailers, all with local plates, rushing like crazy down to the Kenai Peninsula. They were taking huge risks with the overtaking, blowing their horns and waving to us as they passed. Of course, on several occasions, I waved back cheerily, using a minimum of fingers, just to acknowledge their presence, and to wish them a happy trip. It was as though everyone had finished work at 5pm on Friday, and had to get to their fishing spot as fast as possible, coz “The reds are running!!”
The red salmon are coming in to spawn, and the personal limit has been raised, so there must be a glut this year. Sounds good to us, salmon will be cheap all over the place.
Just as we left Seward, to head back to our campsite, the Alaska Railroad train was departing, going the same direction. Actually, it has no choice, there is only one direction by land out of the town. Marlipops was in charge of the driving department, so Captain Cautious threw all caution to the wind, opened the window, leaned out and started taking pix of the train as we drove alongside it.
Then, superhero that she is, Marlipops suggested we zoom up the road to Moose Pass, where there is a wonderful lake, and get pix of the train passing.
So we zoomed. And rushed to park the yellow peril, and ran down to the lakeshore, got a nice spot to sit, and waited. And waited and waited. The train took over half an hour to reach us, and when it finally came into view, it was going so slowly we could have walked up to it and got on without breaking a sweat.
Still we got some lovely train, lake, floatplane and mountain pix.
Today the weather was absolutely brill, around 75 degrees, no wind, and of course no stinkin’ humidity!!
It might not have been mentioned before, and if it has I apologize, but we have to put on record how warm and friendly everyone in Alaska has been. This is not just people we talk to in the street, or other tourists, it is everyone, even the minimum wage youngsters working the boats and the fast food establishments. What is also very refreshing is their politeness and good manners.
We really have fallen in love with Alaska, and who knows, we may never leave!!
Wildlife watch today was lots of birds in Seward, and a picture of a moose.
