June 4 Day 26

Chuck awakes at 8:00, while Pat sleeps in to 9:00 as it is still raining which is normal for Portage. After breakfast we head to the Portage Visitor center. Walking from the RV to the entrance doors is a challenge in the blowing wind and rain. This is really our first day of bad weather on the entire trip.

We take our time visit the Portage visitor center, and when we exit the rain and wind have stopped. We then head to the Portage Lodge for a short visit following which we drive toward Anchorage and stop at Girdwood. As we enter Girdwood, we first stop at the Chugach National Forest Headquarters, as we have always past by the visitor’s center but never stopped in.

We pick up some literature and then continue on to the Alyeska Lodge. We tour the grounds and then head over to the Art Gallery that we enjoy, before heading to Anchorage.

The drive to Anchorage is along Turnagain Arm, with a twisting road that has great views as the sun is out and we watch the tide going our. We arrive at our friend Karen’s house were we will be staying until we depart on Monday.  We have activities planned with Karen and also with Brenna and Zach for the remainder of our trip. The RV gets turned in on Thursday morning, so Chuck will clean out the RV on Wednesday.

This basically ends the blog, and hope you have enjoyed reading our experiences

Nighty Night.

Miles traveled by RV 74 Miles

Total RV Mileage 4600

Total miles traveled 5503

Total RV travel time 3 hours

June 3 Day 25

 

We arise around 10:00a, make coffee, breakfast and a campfire. Before heading out we introduce Zach to the game of Mille Bourne. After lunch and our game of Mille Bourne, which Pat and Zach won as partners, we start our journey towards Anchorage as Brenna and Zach need to be at work tomorrow.

Our first stop is Summit Lake Lodge, where we have coffee and ice cream while walking around the grounds. Brenna and Zach had camped out here in an RV during one of their bike races several years ago.

Next on our agenda is a stop at Hope, which is a funking little town across the inlet from Anchorage. Before the 1964 earthquake there was about 3,000 people; today living in Hope, now there are maybe 200 people scattered about. The National Park Service just finished redoing the campground there, so we drive through it to see the upgrades and while going through it we see a mother moose and her baby. Back in Hope we walk part of the old village and visit several artist galleries that are open.

We then head to Girdwood for dinner. Our favorite restaurant is the Double Muskie, but it is closed on Mondays so Zach suggests we go to Chair 5 restaurant. After a relaxing dinner and good conversation, we say our good-byes as Brenna and Zach head back to Anchorage and we head to Portage for our last night in the RV.

Well as we get closer to Portage, the weather changes and we enter a wind and rain storm. So no last night fire, so the inside warmth of the RV

Nighty Night.

Miles traveled by RV 74 Miles

Total RV Mileage 4526

Total miles traveled 5429

Total RV travel time 4 hours

June 2 Day 24

We sleep in till 10:30, get up make coffee and light brunch. After dishes are done, Chuck and Zach take RV to dump the holding tanks and fill up the fresh water tank.

We then head off to Seward, which is about an hour away. We stop at the commercial district by the boat harbor and have a few appetizers and light lunch, also with a few local beers.

Walking around the upper deck boardwalk, we see the various fish charters returning, and survey the various catches. One young woman has caught a 75 pound Halibut, with all of the others in the 10-20 lbs. range. After which we head to the old downtown area to walk around.

Zach and Chuck decide to try the new local brewery while Brenna and Pat go window shopping. Zach and Chuck’s opinion of the brewery is that they have the atmosphere correct but seriously need a new brewer. We then continue looking at various shops in the downtown area, before heading back to the RV.

On the way back we stop at the Exit Glacier lookout point, and enjoy our drive back to the Quartz Creek campground, spotting an occasional moose along the way. We get back and Pat and Brenna cook dinner; fresh Halibut, pasta, spinach and fresh shrimp.

After dinner we settle down around the campfire, before calling it an evening at 11:30pm

Nighty Night.

Miles traveled by RV 0 Miles

Total RV Mileage 4452

Total miles traveled 5385