“USA 🇺🇸 Alaska ~Girdwood and a Helicopter Ride to the Glacier for Dog Sledding AND We Made it to Chugiak/Eklutna and Palmer”

• July 18, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

First of all, this day was Saturday; July 16th and Chelsies’ Birthday. So, Happy Birthday to you, Bug-a-Boo!!!

AND

The much anticipated Dog Sledding day had arrived!!!
I made reservations way back with Seavey’s IdidaRide Dog Sled Tours out of Girdwood.
We highly recommend them!! It was only 1.5 hours, but very worthwhile.

The weather was pouring down rain, as per is the norm, this summer in Alaska. We wondered if the Helicopter we would get canceled. But, I was told, as long as the winds remained normal, we would still get our trip.

We got checked-in and what I loved about this excursion company was, they provided waterproof jackets/pants/boots/sunglasses and non-waterproof gloves. Not all other dog sled tours like this, do so. 
With the crappola weather we had, we needed everything but the sunglasses 😎 It would be pelting ice and about 15 degrees colder on the glacier.

Our turn came up and we were in the helicopter and up on that Glacier, in only about six minutes! The scenic beauty was really something, and I SOOOO wished we had even just a little sun for this activity. It rained so much the windows were either steamed up or plastered with rain.
Not great for photography!
Ugh 

We had fun, regardless of the weather, and lack of good photos, because this experience could not be beat.

Dog Camp in view 

We were the first up on the glacier, so we got to see the dogs get harnessed and ready to go

⬆️ The dog on the right is an Iditarod Race Champion. Her name is “Angel.” This winner teaches the other dogs how it’s done 

We were a party of three, so while we fit on the helicopter together, we did not on the sleds. Daryl was behind Chels and I, on another sled with somebody else.

⬆️ Third dog from the front/right is “Angel.” She is an Iditarod team winner.
The dogs in the back are first year; just starting out. They see and do, for the most part, to gain experience.

After dog sledding around the glacier, we enjoyed a visit to the puppy pen. They were only eight weeks, and oh so cute ⬇️

GIRDWOOD ALASKA GLACIER DOG SLEDDING TOUR INFO

After puppy time, we got hot cocoa and warmed up in a shed at dog camp. Chels got a plate of homemade cookies, too, from a worker whose birthday it was; just two days before hers. His mom sent him the homemade treats, and it was so thoughtful of him to share!!!
Of course Chelsie shared with us!

All too soon, the helicopter came back to get us.

⬇️  Landing at the little airport. Do you see where we parked The Whale?

We stripped our outer clothes off in the office/hanger and were dry on the inside. We then left the airport and walked a few yards to The Whale, got inside and turned up the heater and dove into Birthday Cake and Ice Cream!! 

Done with the Dog Sledding Trip, and happily full of cake, we pulled out of our awesome, convenient boondocking spot, next to the tiny airport and drove 20 more minutes, further South on the Seward Highway, to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

From Anchorage to Girdwood 

From the Girdwood Airport to the Wildlife Center 

Fortunately, AWCC has a large property for big rig parking, plus even their 1.5 mile wildlife loop drive can be driven in The Whale.
Sweet!

It was a bit pricey, at $20 pp or $18 for Chels with Military discount, but we could drive three times on the loop. The money does go to a good cause. BTW, I’m a big fan of Dr Oakley; Yukon Vet. I’ve watched all the episodes. Dr Oakley visits this center, regularly, to care for the animals. I’ve seen this place on TV, so it was fun to visit in person.
AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides them with spacious enclosures and quality animal care. Most of the animals that arrive at the AWCC become permanent residents and will always have a home there.

Yes, it was still pouring down rain, plus we only had The Whale to drive. No, not ideal at all, but it was what it was. Had there actually been summer weather, we would have happily parked it and walked, no matter what we were driving.

https://alaskawildlife.org/

From Anchorage to Girdwood ⬇️

The drive from where we had been staying; Creekwood Inn and RV in Anchorage, to Girdwood, was about 50 minutes, back down South on the Seward Highway. Then we took the Alyeska Highway to Girdwood. It would be our third drive on the Seward Highway, this trip. It poured down rain, each time! 

The last time we drove it, was when the fatality accident (so sad) closed the highway for six hours, and we were stuck in that closure. No issues this time.
Whew!

The only plan we had leaving the Inn and Rv Park, was to find a boondocking spot in Girdwood, as close to the Alpine Air Hanger at the little airport as possible, and hoped for the best. 

We arrived down a terrible pot-holed road, off the Alyeska Highway and found a place away from the no parking sign, and off the road, but not in the ditch/or bushes.

Not having our car is problematic, with no taxis in Girdwood, even if we could have even found a campground, so really needed to find something within walking distance. We totally scored!!!
Since we parked, and got The Whale set up, there were many other RVers with the same idea as us; coming to the end of the same road in hopes of an overnight stay, but we got there, early and filled what little area there was.

⬇️ Chelsie has adapted pretty well to the Glamping lifestyle, after a walk-a-bout in the rain, before leaving Anchorage to get down to Girdwood.…and she saw her first Moose, today!

While Chelsie napped, I got dinner prepared. We ate the fresh-caught Salmon, by the big guy.

“Salmon Boats”

~with Broccoli, and Mushrooms
…..Jasmine Rice in the cooker

Easy-Peasy!!!

We settled in for the night and were looking forward to a good night sleep, for our big dog sledding day, when we (daryl and I) experienced something unpleasant!

While dead asleep, our phones go off with a “Tsunami Warning.”

What?????

This was a first for us.
We did not feel an earthquake, but we immediately had to decide if we should break camp at our boondocking site and drive to higher ground, in the pouring rain, even though we were 132 feet above sea level, because our escape route would have actually had us driving towards the water.

We had no idea if we were in a safe zone or not. We were only about two miles from the bay. I did an internet search to get more info, but there was nothing available, so soon after the alert woke us up….just more of “leave the area.”

We decided to stay put, mostly because we did not feel an earthquake, but had to believe being already over a hundred feet about sea level it would be enough.

We did have another earthquake of 7.7, a few weeks ago, while staying on the Kenai Peninsula. It was during the day, and this did not trigger a tsunami alert…

I wonder why????

I couldn’t fall back to sleep very easily, as I kept wondering if a big wave was going to take us out! I’ve watched movies ya know….

Finally, I found some info on the world wide web, and was able to go back to sleep.
The Tsunami Alert was canceled very quickly after it was sent out, but was this source reliable?

…according to the Homer Police Dept, it was, but this info came out the next morning.

So why don’t they sent out another alert that all was safe???

The Epicenter for this quake, that woke us from our slumber, was pretty far south from us. It was a measured 7.2, but I’m still wondering why we got the wake up call to flee, whilst in Girdwood, which is considered the outskirts of south Anchorage.
🤔
This alert, did in fact, send people in a rush, jumping in their cars, leaving their rvs behind, and heading for the mountains, according to what I read.

Lesson Learned: I will now look into local tsunami escape route, before going to bed, when Glamping near the coastline……

*************

Good News About Jonah ⬇️

We got some amazing news, before leaving Anchorage, for Girdwood, about our VW.
We had her towed awhile back; (three different tow times, by now); this time from Homer to Anchorage (211 miles)

…and we could only hope the new garage could get her patched-up enough to be able to safety tow her. She was deemed unsafe to drive, by the mechanic, thus ending our trip in Alaska, by a month!!
The more remote areas of Alaska have no cities or taxis. We really could not have continued our excursions, without a car, for the remainder of our trip (another month). I was completely devastated, overwhelmed and so beyond sad over this. My nerves are shot!

We are so grateful for the mechanics at Culmination Motorsports, who worked us in, with their, already over-booked commitments. We were not expecting that, as they were so busy with other commitments, before we called them for help.

She has been given the “gone through,” big time, and for the first time, since we’ve owned her; and according to the mechanic, they drove her all over Anchorage and she “purrs like a kitten,” now. 

As was suspected, back in Tok; two days after arriving in Alaska, when she officially stopped running, we were told by that mechanic, he suspected the engine would need to be pulled, to get to the real problem, and they were fair to tell us it was not their expertise. That guy was spot on, as her motor did have to get pulled, to get her fixed, amongst a long list of other issues where she pretty much disintegrated into a non-working heap of metal.
VW motors run very hot and rely on air cooling, so when the engine system is not operating correctly, one failed part, leads to another failed part.

Now, she starts right up, mostly idles and will drive safely down the road for us!

alternator/generator/pulley/ battery post replacement/rear axle fix/brake drum and lug nuts/crankshaft leaky seal repair/sway bar fix/fan and belt replacement/alignment/loose wiring everywhere, and more other issues. THIS, after having only driven it 1,300 miles, since waiting a year for the repairs/restoration the first time to get done. 

What a mess!

We had brand new tires on her when we bought her, and now will be needing new tires, soon, due to the improper wear and tear patterns from the rear axle issues and front sway bar issues and tie rod falling apart; having it drive crooked and loose, as it deemed clearly unsafe to operate or tow! We are ready to put our car troubles behind us, while up North at least, and fully enjoy the rest of our epic adventure in Alaska, without so much stress, drama, frustration and distraction.

************

Back to, After Our Visit at the Alaska Wildlife Stop

We drove The Whale back to mid-town Anchorage, from Girdwood  and boondocked in the Cabela’s parking; three minutes from Culmination Motorsports, so we would be close by, to pick up Jonah on Monday morning.
Cabelas has a big parking lot and plenty of other RV travelers were doing the same. From there we were also a ten-minute drive to the airport to get Chelsie back on a plane, to the east coast.

We all knew the eight days would just fly by and it did!!!! We are so glad we got to share some amazing adventures, together, once again, and happy Chels was willing to fly cross-country to do so!

Next day, Daryl picked up Jonah. We had been in contact with the restoration guy in Kingman, hoping he would do the right thing with this major bill. He did not do the right thing 😡

This does not mean we are done with the disappointment and expense of his hodgepodge work. Nope. Not at all, but we will need to be back in the lower 48 for those proceedings.

$5000 later, we got our VW back. She starts and doesn’t die on us all the time. She sounds quieter, too. Also, she drives down the road and feels solid. So for now, we have a car again, to finish our final month in Alaska, before driving back to Oregon.
We hope and pray we are done with all these problems. It’s been very stressful and frustrating and it has impacted this trip A LOT!!!

**************

After the airport drop, for which I drove Chelsie there in Jonah, Chels was in airport mode, and Daryl and I needed to get on the road, to head towards the direction of Valdez.
We had a few stops along the way.

Eklunta St Nicholas Church and Cemetery ⬇️

We have seen a few Russian Orthodox Churches, in our Alaska travels, but we have not seen any Russian Orthodox Churches with Cemeteries.
This was worth the stop, even if all buildings were locked up.

The old St. Nicholas Church was built in Knik sometime around 1870 and was moved to Eklutna around 1895, according to Native Village of Eklutna president Aaron Leggett. This is Anchorage’s oldest standing building, is this small, rough-hewn building looks like a log cabin and is easy to overlook next to the taller, brighter, onion-domed new St. Nicholas Church.

The old St. Nicholas Church has been in disrepair for years, and a $350,000 federal grant, awarded in 2022 under the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund, is intended to tackle many of the big issues, including a dangerously leaning bell tower and the construction of a new foundation.

⬆️ The new church next door to the historic log church, was built in the 1960s

Visiting the Eklutna Cemetery is a must for anybody interested in Alaskan History. The Russian Orthodox site dates back to 1650, which makes it by far one of the oldest known historical spots in the Anchorage area. And, it is still used today.

The grounds have over 100 little doll house-style graves, called spirit houses. “The spirit houses are to be maintained as monuments to people. Another belief is that these were temporary portals that, once they serve their purposes, go back to the earth,” said Aaron Legget, president of the village of Eklutna.

To note: there is a place for big rig parking, but only if their parking spots are empty. The pavement ends and there is a wide spot between the two lane road and parking.
Without a tow, one can turn around, even if parking spots are busy.

We had no way of knowing what the situation would be, so we parked the rig a few miles away (near Bobby’s RV) in the town of Chugiak, and drove the Bug to Eklunta.

I wanted to drive Jonah from Anchorage, till the end of our day, to boondock, since we got a late start; or as it would be, stay over at the Palmer RV place. Jonah did pretty good. I’m just super gun-shy at this point, and cautiously optimistic.

When we leave for Valdez, tomorrow, we will put the tow bar on Jonah and tow her.

Glamping For The Night in Palmer ⬇️

The clouds lifted a little to see some mountains, as we drove this Northern direction, and arrived at the church.
The mosquitos were big and thick. Beware!

************

UPDATE: I’m not sure what happened, but I was able to salvage my photos from the memory card.  I think the uninstall and install of Photoshop was the trick, but it didn’t all apply till I had better wifi at the campground and Valdez…Yay!!

P.S. I always post my Nikon Photos, but my processing program (Lightroom) is not uploading my raw photos into it, from my computer. Card reader is not the problem, because I used Daryl’s and had same issue. Memory Cards are not the problem, because it’s happened two times with two different cards.
I currently uninstalled and re-installeds the program. No change.  I was able to drag my raw photos from dog sledding from desktop to a file, so I did not lose those.  I lost the ones from the wildlife center so far. I have them on the memory card, but can’t get them into Lightroom, as the icon with the photos now, does not even show up on my computer desktop. I will have to call help desk with Adobe. Wish me luck!