Good Grief! Another trip - USA2024

Bag End
Sunday, 9th June

Yes, we’re safely back at Bag End and have got over our jet lag – 8 hours time difference from Alaska made it a bit worse. Our trip does seem to be in the distant past now and it’s difficult to recall much of it. So many towns, so many hotels, so many stretches of road, so many gasps of delight at the views. However, we are now plodding through all the video Bob took on our journey of discovery. And then it begins to come flooding back. Without our video and photos, there’s a lot we simply wouldn’t remember, even though it's all worth remembering.

That was what was so great about this trip – we wouldn’t change a thing. With the possible exception of a wet, snowy and very cold Sunday afternoon in Winnemucca, northern Nevada! At least we got the Blog updated!

Other reflections include the high cost of hotels in the USA now and the fact that, like hotels worldwide, in addition to charging more since the COVID lockdown, they have also reduced the service they give. Daily “housekeeping” is not provided unless requested and, even when requested in some places still not provided. We also noted how many of what we used to call “chambermaids” are male.

These days, medicaments make up a significant part of our luggage, plus electricals, which always weigh down one of the suitcases. Despite cutting back, there’s always the “just in case we need it” syndrome and then, of course, we do need it but don’t have it!

Back to our long trip home. Alarm phones ringing to get us up at 3.45am in our room at the Best Western in Fairbanks in order to get to the airport in time for our 7am Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle. Even at that early our, it’s broad daylight so it was an easy drive to the airport and we knew exactly where to park our Tahoe rental car, having returned the first car they gave us on arrival.

Priority check-in was easy and we joined the others waiting for the 6am flight to Seattle! We fairly quickly realised we were at the wrong gate on the wrong floor waiting for the wrong flight but, the airport is so compact, nowhere is very far, thankfully.

The boarding agent was a delightful, mature black lady who boarded us all by name as she checked our boarding cards, and all done with great humour. What a difference that makes to the fairly horrible boarding procedure these days. Nowadays serving service men along with veterans are boarded first along with children flying on their own, children with their minders, and those requiring assistance. And only then "First Class". We did notice far fewer wheelchairs waiting to board in the USA than we tend to see these days in Europe, even though the abuse of this service is happening there too.

At last, Priority customers are boarded and we are able to get our computer bag into the overhead locker before the hoards arrive with everything including the kitchen sink to cram into those bins. Not much would fit “under the seat in front of you”.

The flight left early and there were good views to begin with, but then we were above the thick clouds, so didn’t see much until approaching Seattle.

We were served a pretty good breakfast. John had pre-ordered scrambled eggs with “red pepper jam” (what?!), sliced sausage and potatoes. Bob had the fruit and cheese again. We found crew on board the four Alaska Air flights we had to be excellent and we were well looked after in our favourite front row, where we get served drinks and food first.

This time we were allowed to use the Alaska Air lounge at Seattle – these days, access is limited to those on flights over a certain distance. Previously their lounges had been seriously overcrowded. The trouble is that airlines seem to be trying to make their money by flogging credit cards and, to attract the buyers, have to offer all sorts of goodies, including lounge access. American Airlines’ lounges are similarly busy – and you don’t even get access if you’re on any domestic flight in First Class, so the lounges are full of people with some sort of “privilege” status or credit card.

It wasn’t long before we had to get to our gate for the flight to New York. But the flight was delayed by the bad weather that had been over much of the US. And we were warned that we may encounter turbulence on the way. This turned out to be OK but we were above thick clouds most of the way, with only the odd break with a view of the landscape below.

We were served lunch and this time we had both ordered “Steak Sofrito” followed by chocolate ice cream. Arthur enjoyed the latter but was only allowed 3. The steak was pretty good, slow cooked in a nice sauce. But still an airline meal, despite all the hype!

We were put on hold getting into JFK and, when we eventually landed, had to seemingly wander round the whole airport in the fog looking for the gate. By the time we’d got off the plane, it was midnight, New York time, about 2 hours late. Our bags were quickly off, then we had the complicated journey to get to the terminal, opposite which our stay for the night, the iconic (yes! Iconic!!) TWA Hotel was located. We had to go up and down elevators and across a road to get the Air Train to the Jet Blue terminal. There we seemed to have more elevators then down a path and across the road to the hotel. A vast check-in area greeted us and we were given our room keys and directions as to how to find our room.

We were flagging by now and poor Bob had had to drag our suitcases a long, long way. Unfortunately, John didn’t really listen to the directions he was given to our room. Bob dragged the suitcases up a ramp, then another long and heavily carpeted ramp, then, up a few floors, in obscure elevators, but our room number was missing. We should have been in the Hughes wing (after Howard Hughes, owner of TWA, of course) not the Saarinen wing (he was the architect). So down the ramps, to start it all again. Eventually we fell into our room to find a wide, floor to ceiling window looking over the road to the JFK runways, with the Jet Blue terminal to the left and the Delta terminal over to the right. Wow!

The room was a little cramped and John had to breath in to get out of bed and along the wall. Too big a bed in too small a room. It was all very stylish in that 60s TWA mode. A thick pad of TWA paper, and a pot full of TWA Hotel pencils. It was a very nice room, just a little impractical.

It was raining heavily when I was going to take a general picture from over the road. So this is a library image, without all the traffic!

After a long lie-in, we went to explore. Having not had anything to eat since dinner on the plane, we had a hotdog in the food court. Remind me to order without Sauerkraut next time! We learned that the main lobby area was originally the TWA terminal, built in 1962.

An offending ramp with thick red carpet. Not designed for dragging suitcase wheels over!

Then up to the roof to see the infinity pool with its view of all the goings-on at the airport. Wow! Magnificent and a favourite spot for plane spotters, though you can only get up there as a resident of the hotel, or have booked for the café and/or have paid a fee. The weather was stormy and it started to rain so, of course, those in the pool (reservations necessary) got out into the dry shelter of the café.

What a splendid location for anyone at least vaguely interested in air travel.

Our flight to Madrid was not until the evening so we had booked a late checkout. The weather was not good so we decided to get an Uber to the American Airlines terminal and that worked really well. The young driver was there within minutes, despite the heavy rain, and got us easily to the terminal where an American Airlines 5-Star service agent was waiting for us. Though an extra, we love this service. Taken to an exclusive check-in area, where we were relieved of our bags, then pushed to the head of the line for security. No need to take off shoes or belt now we are both over 75, and into their Flagship lounge. Again very busy, and towards the end of our stay there, most of the seats were taken. We did not indulge in much food as we knew we would have dinner on the plane to contend with.

We were then taken to pre-board our flight but, again due to the weather, there was a delay. Once all boarded and pushed off, all take-offs were then suspended so the engines were closed down and we waited in a long line of planes, behind a BA flight and a Turkish Airlines one. We were served warm nuts and a drink and eventually we got off the ground. We would be around 60 minutes late landing.

Yes, Bob was flying backwards on this flight. At least we could communicate by shouting!

The meal was quite good though, as predicted to the nice flight attendant who hadn't tried it, John’s “Roasted Chicken” was rather dry, and needed more of the nice but undistinguished “white chocolate balsamic sauce” – what high falutin’ nonsense these menus are!

Time to settle down on the “flat beds” for some sleep. All too soon the FAs were going round with drinks and a breakfast, for us, of fresh fruit and Greek yoghurt, which was welcome. We landed rather late, of course, but that didn’t matter to us. We ended up in comfort on the plane longer than intended as a result.

At Spanish border control, a young man directing the lines said we could not go to the very short EU line with our residency cards. Instead, we had to join all the others with Non-EU passports. We then ended up being pulled over to the EU desks anyway and there our cards were accepted without the batting of a policeman's eyelid. Next time……..

We decided to get a taxi back to the Marriott Hotel to collect our car, rather than wait for the courtesy bus. There we could relax in the comfortable lounge and have a coffee or three. Then it was time to extract our car from the underground car park which was done with ease and we were soon on the empty toll road round Madrid.

We’d looked for a stop for the night within an hour’s drive south of Madrid and came up with Finca Estacada, near Tarancón in Cuenca province. What a find. A beautiful hotel in the middle of a winery with lovely rooms which had a view of the fields of vines, a comfortable bar and really nice restaurant with very good value food, we thought. It also has a spa if you’re into those.

We were able to check-in early and had a rest from our long journey. We’d been given a voucher for a “free glass of wine” each but this befuddled the young waiter – though we got our free drinks in the end (wine and fizzy water!).

On checkout we were given two bottles of the finca’s wine. Bob has yet to try it but says the wine served with our excellent dinner was good. We stopped for a late breakfast of coffee and toast and tomatoes on the way back to Bag End, and, at last, we’re back to Spanish prices!

Time to finish putting away all the stuff that’s still on the spare bed, waiting to be put away and turn our thoughts to the next trip. Have we exhausted the Western US, and where new can we safely go in Alaska? Suggestions please! And thank you as ever for your great support and interest in our little trip. Gone but not completely forgotten!

A quick thank you to you all for adding to the pleasure of our trip.

Just drive!

Cabin A8, Denali Park Hotel
Healy, AK
Thursday 23 May 2024

By the time this Blog is finished, we’ll be on our way home. At the time of typing we are near the top edge of Denali National Park.

But, back to Anchorage. First, a bit more about the city. We think that if you parachuted in, hijacked a car. and had a drive round, you could well think you were in any American city, but the backdrop of mountains is a bit of a giveaway so, despite all the usual trappings of malls, eateries like Carls Jr, Wendys (no apostrophe), and DQ (aka Dairy Queen), and traffic lights, it does have the feeling of a frontier city.

How many men to tarmac a small area in front of the hotel? At least seven - several missing from this photo.
No wonder roadworks take so long

After an excellent breakfast at Gwennie’s (with apostrophe) we took the busy road out of the city to Muldoon Drive and the Native Heritage Center. Quite an expensive entry fee of $50 for two oldies, only to find the main part, the Hall of Cultures, was closed for remodelling. This is really the main part of the centre, so it was a bit of a disappointment. In the stage area, there was a demonstration of native Alaskan dancing, with feathers, fans, the lot. And a wander round the lake in the middle, is an enjoyable half hour with various reproductions of different living quarters.

This time, no moose plopped into the water, then we found the place had been fenced. We came back into the main building and two teenage lads were demonstrating a few of the Alaskan Eskimo-Indian Olympic Sports. Quite amazing and it was explained that the various “events” were designed to strengthen muscles required for an eskimo way of life. They demonstrated, and challenged each other to go one better, with various versions of the high kick. Their audience of one grew to about 10 who gasped at their strength and athleticism.

We then drove to a Walgreens for some supplies, and on to a great attraction which few appreciate. Right next to Ted Stevens International Airport is Lake Hood. Alongside is an airstrip and the lake itself which provides take-off and landing facilities to float planes. The airstrip accommodates the many wheeled light planes that are flying to one of the hundreds of airstrips around Alaska. Where there is only water to land on, the float planes come into their own. To many places, the only way to get there is by air. A light aircraft is taking off or landing every few minutes.

Around the lake, are many huts with aircraft parked next to them. I guess you rent a hut and a space for your aeroplane. We found a spot by the lake and watched a few aquatic take-offs and landings.

The city is not really surrounded by mountains on 3 sides, but it does seem like it!

Anchorage is a very busy city but easy to get around. In the evening we found a nice restaurant in the fashionable Spenard district. Bob had Chicken Cob Salad and John a Turkey Reuben Sandwich.

Our day in Anchorage had been lovely, with a clear blue sky and warmish sun. The next day, however, it was overcast and rain threatened. A bit of a disappointment as this was the start of our drive up the left side of the triangle towards Denali (aka Mt Mckinlay) on the George Parks Highway. First we retraced our steps on the Glenn Highway, then forking left before the busy town of Palmer. Here we hit the local traffic of Wasilla, a busy satellite town to Anchorage.

At last we were out of the traffic and onto the highway but we knew this was going to be different to our other drives. Denali attracts the tourists and, for the first time, there were a number of tour buses, many run by the cruise ship companies who ferry their passengers from the boat to various points inland. Also, we were on the route of the Alaskan Railroad, which also ferries tourists to many stops up to, and beyond, Denali. That, plus the poor weather, could have depressed us somewhat, but we knew we were lucky to have had the fine weather we’d mostly had so far. We have learned to take the rough with the smooth and as snowy mountains loomed out of the murk, we were cheered up enormously.

We were also taken aback by the amount of traffic going up the Talkeetna Spur Road, a dead end fork from the main highway of some 14 miles built in 1963. The town was the headquarters for the construction of the Alaska Railroad between 1914 and 1923. The federal government managed this project to help develop the territory and access mineral deposits. It is still used for freight (as we can witness from our cabin in Talkeetna where the track ran right behind). But also fairly frequent passenger trains ferry tourists into town. Despite the puddles and the mud, we took to the place whose Main Street consisted of shops and one or two restaurants in a variety of cabins. We ate that evening next door at “Latitude 62”. John enjoyed Popcorn Shrimp and Bob had Halibut & Fries.

We had a lovely cabin, but had to take our shoes off before entering. The place had a log fire (gas enabled) which had a mind of its own as to whether it would light or not.

The next day was supposed to be one of our highlights, a flight round Mt. Denali with a landing on a glacier. But it started with poor weather that did not bode well. Our due time to check-in at the tiny airport, just behind the cabins, was 7.45am. What a great company Talkeetna Air Taxis are, with a very fair refund policy. The planned flight would not be possible due to the low cloud base. We could have a full refund or take a shorter flight round whatever was possible. Bob opted to take the refund and John said he’d take the flight. We went and waited in the car and, within a few minutes, the lovely girl on reception came out to tell John that he’d hit the jackpot and would be given a flight with just him and the pilot, Andy, in a two-seater. He still got a partial refund from the original fare.

What an experience that was. We flew up to the cloud base and were able to explore the mountains, valleys and glaciers. Andy even spent 10 minutes winding down the skis as he thought he may be able to make a glacier landing. But, due to the weather, this was not going to be possible, so he spent another 10 minutes winding them up again. Quite a procedure with just his right arm which must have bigger muscles than the other arm. When we landed, Bob told John that he had been away for about an hour, but the time seemed longer than that. It was a fabulous experience and one he will find it difficult to forget. “Forget what??”!

We then drove past the “airport” to the “Swiss Chalet Hotel” for a much needed breakfast, where we chatted to the owner about times to visit Alaska, (he said March was a great “winter” month – maybe next time?!). We discussed our various trips and his one and only cruise round the Caribbean (and he pronounced it the same as we would rather than the usual caRIBbean.).

We drove out of town to find a dog sledding company. They run wheeled dog sledding action but we realised the place we found was not open to the public. We assume they use their courtesy buses for getting people to the sledding. Maybe next time?(!!)

That evening we ate at the Talkeetna Brewing Company’s place. Very good food and local beer if you’re into that! Bob had Tuna Cheddar Sandwich with coleslaw and salad and John had the most delicious Brisket. The last time that was available was on the lake in Michigan.

The following day saw another mix of weather with some light rain but also plenty of breaks in the cloud, again revealing high snowy peaks. We stopped at “Mary’s McKinlay View Café”, the last place to eat for 75 miles. We had a very chatty waitress with red hair who had driven her tiny car all the way from California, up the Alaska Highway. Just before we finished a good looking family arrived – but they were too late for breakfast. Arthur had timed the drive just right as we made the breakfast cut-off time by 10 minutes. John then saw that one of the sons was wearing a red Trump hat. So the family immediately plummeted in our estimation!

We carried on up the Parks Highway, with some great glimpses of the high Alaska Range, which contains the Denali system of peaks – but we knew the cloud would not allow us to view this – not that many visitors are lucky enough to do so.

On past the entrance to the National Park, past all the usual touristy buildings that gather near Park entrances (cabins, lodges, shops, gas stations etc) and on to a small place called Healy, which is home to the only coal mine in Alaska. The place consisted of one food store, a café, a Brewery restaurant, again, and a couple of gas stations, Our stop for two nights, was in the rather grandly titled “Denali Park Hotel” which, as we knew when booking, was more a simple motel. At least it’s not a wooden lodge full of Princess Cruises passengers, making lots of noise above our room! We have peace and quiet, on the edge of the woods with occasional views of the mountains next to us.

CONTINUED:- AT 37,000 FT, Flight AS16,
Seattle to New York JFK.
Sunday 26 May, 2024

Next day Friday, the skies had broken up quite a bit and there were lots of blue patches. This was our day to drive into Denali National Park and, though conditions were not clear enough to see the beast himself (Mt Denali) we could see a lot more of the Alaska Range.

Having failed to find anywhere that sold sandwiches the previous night, we found a place at the Denali Park area selling “T Shirts, Sandwiches and Ice Cold Drinks”. We bought enough sandwiches and other snacks for a picnic breakfast in the Park and for an in-cabin dinner that night.

Around the visitor center, things were pretty busy. Most people go in on the converted school buses as they can go farther in than in private cars. But we preferred our own company and drove as far as we were allowed, to the Savage River which was a lovely spot. A guy passed us and excitedly told us that there were Dall Sheep “up on that mountain”. We couldn’t spot them. Then we got talking to a ranger and we could spot the sheep and managed to get a rather blurry picture with the telephoto lens on our little Canon camera. We also learned about the Mew Gulls we saw. They come a long way inland to mate and their nesting areas are protected.

These white blobs are the Dall Sheep, a long way away!

It was odd there was no entrance where the National Park passes were checked. We’d had to buy them anyway as, by landing on a glacier, we would have entered the park – not that that happened! – so we assume it was all done on trust. And we were pleased how few cars were taking the drive that we did. We found a perfect layby for our picnic stop – consisting of a shared egg salad sandwich and a shared ham and cheese one with a bag of salty crisps and very naughty, and sticky, Kellogg’s Rice Crispy bars. Now is there an apostrophe in Kellogg’s? Yes, on checking, there is! I have to correct one statement because, on checking, Wendy’s does have the required punctuation mark! Sorry to them.

On the drive back, we saw a couple of caribou grazing by the roadside. But no bear, moose or porcupine, though Arthur claims to have seen many of each, he thinks! This, all between him counting all the trees we pass. The final tally will be in our last Blog!

We then took a drive down Parks Highway, the way we’d come, to see if we could see any more of the mountains. But not really, so we drove back the other way to check out the town of Healy. We couldn’t find any more to it than the odd buildings and businesses on the main road. So, with a population of 980, we wondered where they all live?

A lovely quiet spot, Otto Lake, just down the track from the motel which we had, all to ourselves!

Saturday morning saw quite blues skies again but, as we drove towards Fairbanks, the skies turned blacker, and we had rain most of the way, some of it heavy.

The usual hold-up for roadworks

A lovely home "cookin' " breakfast in the tiny town and railway stop, Nenana, on the River Nenana (pronounced, "Banana" according to Arthur).

The rain had stopped by the time we got back to Fairbanks. We had planned to run the car through a car wash but there was little point, given the state of the roads. So we popped into Walgreens for a few supplies (chocolate for Arthur, and us, soft drinks and one or two bits to take back home with us). We also went back to the Heritage and Visitor Center to buy a gift.

Then it was on, via a gas station to fill the car, for its return on Sunday, and then to the Best Western Plus, just a short distance from the airport. We’d originally planned to go back to the Hampton Inn but then Best Western said we’d earned a free night (we’d only had two stays!) so we cancelled the Hampton and took up our free night, which saved a few bucks. They did put us in a room next to the elevator and the sink had hot and hot running water, but it was fine for one night.

A final trip to the Airport Way Restaurant, where the lovely waitress (the one with all her teeth) welcomed us back. Bob enjoyed liver and onions whilst John had a New York steak sandwich, which was pretty good. The waitress hoped to see us again soon, before we explained we were on our way back to Spain the next day.

On this trip, quite a few have asked “where you framm?” and are bemused when we say Spain.

This marked the end of our triangular drive in Alaska, and the start of our long journey home.

We think it would be better to cover this in a final episode of the Blog, where we can pull other odds and s*ds together, such as Arthur's final tally on the number of trees we've seen!

Bag End Travel Office
Saturday 1st June

This edition finalised at home after long, but enjoyable journey home. Sorry for the delay and hope you insomniacs have managed to get some sleep without the aid of a Blog! One more to come!

Thank you for being there!

STARTED: Cabin 4, Lake Tolsona Lodge, Tolsona
Nr Glenallen, AK
Saturday 18th May 2024

Thank you for the very kind comments and guestimates. The actual mileage we drove from picking the car up in Phoenix, AZ to dropping it off in Spokane, WA was 2510. So I think Annie B. was the closest with 2,100 miles It seemed far enough to us but not far enough for some people it would seem. Will try and do better next time! The drive we made down to Glenallen was stunning - if the chance occurs, it's one that should go on your bucket list!

The confusion over where we were going to, from where, was probably caused by the last Blog being written on different days. We were continuing northwards on US95, and into Canada. Across a bit, then down again, through Washington state to the city of Spokane, from where we flew to Seattle to get our connection to Fairbanks in Alaska.

We were going to try and cover our Alaska triangular drive in one Blog, but that would be indigestible, requiring a crate of Gaviscon, so here’s the first two-thirds. half of the triangle. But still Gaviscon might be required. It's a BIG state!

In the last Blog, we’d arrived safely in our room at the Hampton Inn in Fairbanks. This is a city of some 33,000 souls. It definitely has the feeling of a “frontier” town, being just 196 miles south of the Arctic Circle. We could not have driven there, as the main rental companies will allow you to drive only on those roads maintained by the Alaska state highways authority. And the road northwards is not. It’s possible to rent from local companies which do allow “off road” motoring but insurance costs were too high for us.

Having said we arrive safely in our room, that’s not quite true. We found the hotel quite easily from the nice little airport. Driving here is quite easy as there is by no means the traffic of most other cities we’ve visited. And no aggression. But when we got there, our room was not ready. The skies were cloudy and there was a little rain. So we drove north to an Alaska Pipeline viewing point. Fascinating stuff. A huge challenge building this, and we have seen it in various other places as it follows the road southwards, all the way to Valdez, where the petroleum finds its way into a refinery and/or tankers but, hopefully, not into the sea.

Our room was ready on our return and we were able to settle in and catch up for a good night’s sleep having had a reasonable dinner at the Airport Way Family Restaurant.

On the following morning which, miraculously, had blue skies, we returned there for breakfast, having taken our first car back to the airport where Alamo swapped it for a more familiar Tahoe. Unfortunately, this model does not come with the “overhead” cameras, so John has to get a bit more adept at parking the beast. We saw nothing of Spanish habits of parking across two bays, or over no bays at all! At least this was a lower mileage model than the rather ancient Ford Expedition they’d given us on whose automatic tailgate didn’t function properly. (Arthur has hours of fun opening and closing this if we leave him and Stan in the car!).

Next port of call was the Morris Thompson Cultural Center, where we spent quite a lot of time brushing up our knowledge of Alaskan culture and history. Most of this has disappeared into the depths of our brain, but an example of what we learned was the reason for the rather weedy and small pine trees around here, along with the large patches of deciduous, like “shaking aspen” trees. This is because of the permafrost, and so there is little growing space for trees. A lot fall over, as we have noticed on our drives And, unlike pine trees, the deciduous trees and shrubs are able to regrow after a fire, for example, by sending up shoots from their trunks, something pine trees don’t do.

We then drove to Pioneer Park which contained a sort-of construction of old Fairbanks, with a full size paddle steamer (which seemed to be rotting away) and old cabins, some of which were used by small businesses selling art and other junk. It was a nice stroll around.

We went back to the hotel via “Old Navy” clothes store where John bought a replacement polo shirt for the one that had shrunk in the wash.

We later returned to the Airport Way Family Restaurant (we should have got a season ticket) for a rather average dinner, served by a team of toothless female native American servers. We had to wait quite a while for ours to “return” from the cellar. We are not sure what she was doing down there, but she was certainly not charging her batteries.

Our views on Fairbanks? Well, we came to like it. It seems like various buildings, houses, shops, small malls, gas stations and various hotels were just dropped from a great height and they all settled down amongst the trees of the Alaska wilderness. But an easy, and friendly place to get about. And everyone’s car is dusty!

The mystery of the mains plug dangling from most cars

We’d spotted that our old Expedition had a mains plus dangling from the from bumper, (sorry, fender). Then we realised that all the Alaska cars had a mains plug dangling from their front bumper (sorry, fender). We thought our cars might be hybrid, but the nice man at the Alamo desk enlightened us. Because of the cold winters, the cars have some sort of heater under the oil sump. Without this they would be very difficult to start after a very cold winter’s night!

Next day (Thursday) Bob packed and got our heavy suitcases into the car. (The reason for getting big cars is to accommodate our suitcases. Only one fits in the boot (sorry, trunk) of our Tiguan at home). This time we forewent the Airport Way Family Diner and went to the much nicer Cookie Jar. This was located in an obscure place behind two car dealers (Subaru and Toyota, for the record), and is not a place one would stumble on. The place was big and busy – so it must be successful based on reputation and recommendation. And we understand why, based on the very good breakfast we had.

Then on to the University of Alaska (Fairbanks campus) for the Museum of the North where we learned yet more about Alaska. One story that sticks in our head is that of the Aleutian islands. They are populated by the "Aleuts" as they were generically known, though they consisted of two rather distinct peoples. Before Russian trappers arrived, there were some 15,000-20,000 of them. But after terrible treatment, including enslavement, by the Russians, their numbers were reduced to 2,000 by disease and maltreatment. The chains of countless islands (actually 70) would be a wonderful and unspoiled region to visit. They stretch for 1,100 miles. Where’s that atlas?!

We pottered around a bit as we’d been told that our room at our next port of call would not be ready until 4. And the drive to Delta Junction was only around 90 minutes. Then we got a message saying that we could have early check-in. As it turned out, we did not get there till after 3pm. We drove round aimlessly the town of North Pole, which has street names like Santa Clause Lane, as well as giant statues of Santa, a huge Christmas tree, and a Christmas store. It also had candy cane streetlights, and glittery emblems on each post. We gave up trying to find anything more interesting so carried on down Richardson Highway towards Delta Junction.

We had peeks of snowy peaks in the far distance from the high location of the university. As we drove towards Delta Jct. there was always this wall of white mountains “at the end of the road”. Going in the other direction were huge dumper trucks which, we later worked out, were taking materials to the major roadworks going on further down the road.

CONTINUED: Room 310, Hampton Inn,
Anchorage, AK
Sunday, 19 May 2024

As I type this, having managed to check-in nice and early, the rain is running down the window, though we can still see snowy peaks from our 3rd floor vantage point. Today is the first poor weather we’ve had. We have to take the rough with the smooth and recognise we’ve been so very lucky so far.

Back to Delta Junction on Friday. We had booked at a motel just before the tiny town of Delta Junction, set on the edge of the woods. It didn’t look up to much, looking like so many of those old fashioned motels, but the room was a big surprise. Very nicely furnished and with a full kitchen.

Having settled in and had a bit of a rest, we drove the few miles into Delta Junction for dinner at the Cave Lounge and Grille. (We have never worked out the difference between a shop and a shoppee, or, indeed a grill and grille??). However, again, we were very pleasantly surprised. The place was buzzing (with a couple of graduation parties but, judging by the faces on one party, the lady must have got far worse grades than expected!). We’d expected very little of Delta Junction but we had excellent service and food. Bob had fish (halibut) and chips (NOT chippes) and John the most enormous prawns we’d ever seen. Very good indeed.

Next morning we set out on what we’d anticipated would be one of our highlights. A drive down Richardson Highway, through the Alaska Range (those white mountains we could always see in the distance) to Glenallen junction.

As mentioned already, if there is one road to travel in North America and go on any bucket list, it has to be this one!

We did not expect the most incredible day we had. The sky was blue and the sun was out, and illuminating those glistening peaks. The road was blissfully quiet with a car going in the other direction about every 20 minutes or so. The few cars going our way did bunch up when we had a hold-up for road reconstruction, with pilot car to see us through the works. By pulling in for a few minutes and letting those cars disperse, we knew there would be nothing behind us for ages.

From way back, it looked as if there was no way through this great barrier but it emerged that there was a large gap and Isabel Pass was an easy way through at only 3,242 feet. Here we would eventually join the Copper River Basin.

We have run out of superlatives for our experiences on this trip, but today was simply superlative. We came down to Gakona Junction, where highway 1 goes on to Tok and, eventually, through the Yukon and BC, to the continental USA. This road, the Alaska Highway, would be a challenge. Indeed, we’d looked at driving this as an option, but one-way rentals are not available to Alaska. And, it emerged that it would be a challenging drive. We saw many cars carrying an extra spare wheel or two on the roof, as frost heaves, where the road sinks and the surface breaks up, cause many a puncture. We did come across many dips, or heaves, but, on our highways., the surface in most places was OK. The Alaska Highways Authority do an amazing job keeping the roads in reasonable condition. We did take out extra breakdown insurance, just in case!

Next was the junction at Glenallen, a small community with a couple of gas stations and a shop. Here the Richardson Hiighway continues to Valdez. And, turning right, the Glen Highway takes the AK1 to Anchorage. We had driven this in the other direction on our previous visit, and down to Valdez. We had awful weather down to Valdez on that trip, so we’d decided to stay two nights in accommodation about 15 miles the other side of Glenallen, spending our free day exploring the way, at least partly, to Valdez.

We turned off the highway and down a bumpy track to Tolsona Lake Lodge. This turned out to be a muddly group of buldings with a couple of float planes parked up. The main building included a very smart restaurant, and our room was in a row of cabins, looking towards the lake. Though a bit faded and in need of some attention, particularly in the bathroom, we were very comfortable and cozy. We actually came to like the place very much and were glad we’d chosen it.

The lake was still pretty frozen, though the wind got up on Saturday and much of the ice was blown over towards the other shore.

The lodge was being run by Sean. On our second evening there, when we were the only ones in the restaurant (he does the cooking, and washing up too!) we learned that he started life in the city of Gary, Indiana, as a Native/Hispanic when that city was very dangerous (and is now all but dead). He is running this place for his mother-in-law (who helped out at dinner time) but she now wants to sell the place, her husband having died. Sean's future is therefore uncertain.

On our first night, the restaurant was packed and Sean and Ma-in-law struggled to keep up, not helped by Ma-in-law getting the orders wrong. A large party of native Americans (Inuit?) had come in to celebrate a birthday and at least one of their party was still waiting for his fish and chips when we left.

For our rest day, we took the highway towards Valdez and then branched off to the “ghost” town of Chitina (pr. Chitna). We had not known it was a ghost town and it wasn’t really, though most of the buildings were deserted and in a state of decline (eg the hotel and emporium) and members of the Chitnia and Ahtna tribes were still living thereabouts. A gravel road carried on to the proper ghost town of Kennicot. But, regrettably, we are not insured to drive on such roads.

On the way, we’d stopped by a lake to repeat the picnic breakfast we’d enjoyed on the previous day:- a couple of gas station sandwiches, (much more enjoyable than the overfilled “deli” sandwiches we’d had before), a bag of over-salted crisps, and a naughty, but nice slice of cake

Here we were on the edge of the magnificent Wrangell mountains, part of the Wrangell-St Elias National Park, a park which appears to have no roads to access it. Truly an incredible wilderness.

On our drive back, we again passed the cascading Liberty Falls, and would see the mountains of the Chugach range. It was a fabulous excursion.

Musk Oxen having a rest

After a bit of a rest, we again enjoyed Sean’s cooking in their restaurant, assisted by Ma-in-law, but, as we were the only diners, they didn’t have much to do but chat to us. Which is when we had a long natter to Sean and we learned of his very checkered past. We also learned that last winter, they'd had 8ft of snow, but they manage to keep the lodge open throughout the year.

We thought we may be the only ones staying, but, as we were getting into bed for an early night, planning an early start for the next day, a party arrived next door. Fortunately the noise soon quietened down and we had a good night’s sleep.

Up again at 6am and away on Glen Highway towards Anchorage by about 7.30. We were hoping to see more wildlife than we had so far. We did manage to see 2 moose, then another young moose eating grass by the roadside. Also, not far from Anchorage, where we’d taken the old Glen Highway loop, we saw a very large porcupine meandering across the road. The car in front had put on its hazard lights to warn us. So that was the third porcupine we’d seen here.

Unfortunately today was the first grey day we’ve had and the cloud was quite low. We could see mountains but not the high peaks. No matter, it was still a splendid drive. To start with we were seeing a car about every 20 minutes but, as we got closer to Anchorage, we saw more cars going the other way, either to go fishing or towing an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) for a bit of Sunday recreation.

We stopped for another picnic breakfast by another lake.

We got to the Hampton Inn, where we’d stayed on our previous visit here and, luckily a room was ready for early check in. Having said the rain was streaming down our window here, the sun is now out but the sky looks far from settled. Tomorrow we’ll have a potter round the largest city in Alaska, but not the capital, of course, that being Juneau which is land locked and not accessible by road. Another challenge one day, perhaps?

Sunday's view from the Hampton Inn. A wall of mountains surrounds 3 sides of Anchorage

Tomorrow we move on again. More soon, dear readers.

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Room 303, Ramada Hotel
Creston, British Columbia
12 May 2024

Tomorrow we drive to Spokane airport for our flight on Tuesday to Alaska, starting the second part of our adventure.

As reported, we completed driving the length of US95 on Saturday and continued into Canada on BC95. Then on to Creston for 2 nights.

Our drive out of Coeur d’Alene was a little busy at times as US95 combined with US2. We had actually driven part of this in the other direction on our last trip, but nothing looked familiar.

We stopped for breakfast at an excellent restaurant, the Blue Heron, near Sandpoint. We crossed the wide Pend Oreill river on a causeway and the railway was next to us. A whole load of people were running on an organised event, and many looked as if they were flagging in the exceptional heat we’ve had for the past few days.

Highway 2, East, branched off to the right towards Kalispell, Montana, and then other traffic for Canada branched off to the left on ID1, leaving us all but alone on US95 towards the main target of our trip, Good Grief!, Idaho. When we were looking for a new route to drive, the tiny place of Good Grief! called out to us on Google Maps at the planning stage. Then we discovered the possibilities of US95, and here we are, having passed through Good Grief! (we note they had painted out the exclamation mark on the sign, though it still appears on Google Maps).

Through stunning country, more like Canada (hardly surprising!) we reached the border. One car in front, and, within 2 minutes, we were called forward, gently interrogated about pets (should we mention Stan & Arthur, who don’t have their own passports??), creepy crawlies, weapons, explosives, pepper spray by a friendly Canadian customs guy, who was fascinated by our trip. A quick stamp in the passports, and we were on our way into Canada for just two nights.

The scenery was amazing, and every other car seemed to have a canoe or kayak on the roof. We noticed a lot more older cars here than in USA.

We are in a great location and Creston has quite a nice downtown but we failed in our quest to buy a road map of British Columbia. No one seems to sell maps anymore. We were sent from one shop to the next, but didn't find one.

What was Bob doing on the front of the car at Lake Cd'A? This! The other picture of Bob showed him looking at the lake. Nothing else!!

For our rest day here, we’d planned to drive to Nelson, an interesting-looking town about 155kms away. We drove over stunning Kootenay Pass, well above snow level, and down to Salmo. We then decided not to drive all the way to Nelson, so drove back over the pass (things always look quite different in the other direction!) to Creston where we’ve been sorting things out ready for our flights on Tuesday to Fairbanks, Alaska, on Alaska Air from Spokane.

Chains for wheels etc. No leather jackets or Muir caps involved!

We’ve booked a hotel just over the road from the airport so we are dropping our trusty Tahoe off tomorrow afternoon and will walk across VERY early on Tuesday for our 6am flight to Seattle, for our connection to Fairbanks. There was no avoiding the 6am flight – so we are not particularly looking forward to getting up at 3am, but needs must. Our connection at Seattle is fairly tight, so fingers crossed we will be on time!

Continued at 30,000ft above British Columbia
Aboard Flight Alaska 173 to Fairbanks, Alaska
10.54 (Alaska time), 24 May 2024

A couple of things we forgot to mention on a previous Blog. In Arizona we saw a couple of men wearing guns on their hips. One was a very old man who, quite possibly, should not be in charge of a lethal weapon, eg a car let alone a Colt 45!

Also, as we drove up the Idaho panhandle, there was a big sign “Welcome to Trump Country”. This was somewhat balanced by a large sign outside a house on the way into Spokane: “Trump for Prison”.

The beautiful Pend Oreille River. Bald Eagles nest in the cottonwood trees, opposite. And we were lucky enough to see one returning to their nest.

Our drive to Spokane, on quiet “back” roads, was lovely. Back over Kootenay pass where the light made the snowy peaks even more spectacular. Then left onto BC3 down to the border. Very quiet except for a couple of logging lorries and old trucks returning from the United States. We arrived at the US border, with no one waiting. Had a chat with the lovely border agent (F) and we were through quickly, back into the USofA.

We find Canada to be spectacular but most towns we’ve visited have been slightly odd and rather scrappy. Without wanting to offend Canadians (are there any reading, I doubt it?!), they are trying to be American without quite succeeding. There are a lot of old cars and trucks around with many drivers wearing long beards and hair – some of the men were too! But we absolutely loved our brief trip into that country and there is lots more to explore there.

We eventually joined busy US2 highway into very busy Spokane and stopped at a pre-planned car wash. This time no lads. But one drives onto a conveyor belt with the car in Neutral and foot off brake, and you’re carried through a series of terrifying curtains of water, UV lights, and huge brushes and oscillating sheets of leather. This time the car did get clean and most of the fly swats were removed. Next was gas, as close as possible to the hotel, so that we could return the car “full” to the Hertz depot later. We found one, by a one way street of terrifying traffic. We filled up, and, with Bob advising, having watched others rejoin the swirling mass of traffic, we were onto the Interstate on the way to the very smart and efficient Spokane Airport and the Springhill Suites hotel.

Bob went for a walk to determine where the car should be returned, and, once our bags were up into the room, we drove out of the hotel car park barrier, and almost straight into Car Hire Return. We were greeted by a lad with sandy hair and a very slow southern d-r-a-w-l. We got him to check the car for damage, and he agreed there wasn’t any. He checked the mileage and that the tank was FULL. Now we could calculate how many miles we had driven since leaving Phoenix, AZ. Yes, we returned the car the afternoon before our flight. No point in keeping it with the terminal right opposite!

Bob goes to investigate the rental car return area, opposite.

Here's a little competition, (without prizes – only the glory). See if you can guess, without the aid of Google Maps etc, how many miles we had driven, up US95, with diversions, into Canada, and back down to Spokane, WA. The actual total to be revealed in the next Blog.

We'd chosen the first two seats, in the single row, so at last, poor Bob gets his own windows seat in our Embraer regional jet into Seattle

The flight into Seattle, over the Washington mountains had been spectacular (a word we keep using here, but it's true!), with great views of Mt Rainier and 3 other white giants looming over the landscape. On this flight, to Fairbanks, terrific views of Seattle environs, including of Whidbey Island and its ferries back to the mainland, which we “did” on our last trip.

We had an hour to make the connection at Seattle and we discovered we had to move to a different terminal. On emerging into the terminal, we asked an Alaska Air guy which way to Terminal N. Thank goodness we did, as I think we would still be trying to find our way. We did not see any signs guiding us down the escalator to catch the underground train, two stops, to our departure terminal.

As it turned out, we had plenty of time, despite waiting over 10 minutes for a gate.

Dogs allowed onboard, just on a lead.

Mt. Rainier again, looming over the Seattle airport buildings.

First two rows again, no window seat for Bob but every comfort of the "up front" cabin.

Then over the continuous snowy peaks of BC. As we were served our breakfast (we both chose the delicious Alaska Air “Signature Cheese Platter”), clouds obscured our view of the ground, but the clouds are now breaking up to reveal continuous snow-capped peaks. What a wilderness it must be below! The normal route would be over the sea, along the Canadian coast but, because of high winds, we are taking the inland route. Only an hour to go of what has been a great flight.

There have been two flight attendants who are at the end of their training, and are being judged by a senior FA, so we are getting great service as the newbies try to impress. We all had to give them a round of applause before taking off.

Next, we pick up an Alamo car and drive a short distance to the Fairbanks Hampton Inn for a chance to recover from our 3am start this morning, which, actually, wasn’t as bad as we’d feared.

PS Arrive safely at the Hampton Inn and had a long night’s sleep. A day in Fairbanks – and we started by taking the car back and changing it for another Tahoe, which we’d had on US95. The Ford Expedition they’d given us had a problem with the tailgate opening. Also, it was rather tatty and Alamo were happy to change it.

More about our first day in Alaska, we’ll save for the next Blog.

Thank you for staying with us! And please let us know about your mileage guestimate, and also anything else you’d like to get off your chest. All comments are welcome.

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ROOM 102, Hampton Inn
Coeur d’Alene, ID
Friday 10th May 2024

Completed: Room 303, Ramada Hotel
Creston, British Columbia
Saturday 11th May 2024

Thank you for the kind comments etc. We have now completed our drive up US95, and BC95 (British Columbia) as we drive across into Canada. How can it come to an end so quickly? But wait………! This Blog will only take us to Cd'A or Core Delane, as it's pronounced.

Firstly a “travellers’ tip”:- some hotel rooms require you to put the plastic room key into a slot by the door to get power to the room. It’s not necessary to use the hotel keycard – any old card that fits will do We used the Hertz Gold card. It means you can hang on to the room key – we like to leave the TV on when we go out in the evening.

Where were we? Leaving the busy city of Boise, whose metropolitan area population has grown to 800,000 (250,000 in the city. Michael, our UBER driver remembers it as being in his youth at about 90,000). But we soon left the traffic behind. On US95, we obviously had more traffic than we’ve been used to, but still pockets of traffic rather than constant drone of vehicles

The scenery has been amazing, changing every few miles to keep us amused and alert. There was low cloud when we left and we feared we wouldn’t see any of the snow-capped mountains, but the cloud lifted soon after and we were treated to vista after vista. We drove between interfolding green mountains, and some flat cultivated plains. US95 followed the narrow valley of the Payette River.

We stopped at Gramma’s Restaurant in the small and well-heeled town of Cascade. Gramma knew how to cook a fair breakfast! Our breakfasts, of course, see us through to the evening. And, as it’s around halfway, it’s a good rest for the driver and the chance to top up with coffee.

We saw many posters for local elections. Many were for the election of the county sheriff. The most appropriate name we saw was "vote Killmor for Sheriff".

We crossed the Salmon River which brought us, unexpectedly into Pacific Time again, so we gained an hour. Della the Navigator, warned us that there would be a 50 minute delay due to road works – but this turned out to be around a 20 minute delay before we could pass through behind a pilot car. Long delays due to roadworks are a very common cause of hold ups on American Roads.

We arrived, via a rather convoluted route, at the Super 8 motel in the small town of Grangeville, or “Strangeville” as the Ecuadorian lady called it, who we were chatting to in the Boise museum. It seemed to be a nice and fairly well-heeled town and we were very impressed with the way the motel has been looked after with lots of nice touches (like Christmas trees everywhere) and welcome extras in our room. Super 8 is a chain of somewhat cheaper motels, but we really enjoyed our stay there.

And John swore that the large lady with butterfly glasses and tattoos who signed us in, was also our waitress at the rather nice Trails Restaurant where we had our evening meal. It was only when we checked out of the motel that we found that we could have got 10% off, but the meal had been much cheaper than many, so it didn’t really matter.

The next day, our drive into the Idaho Panhandle and Coeur d’Alene was, again, a really interesting drive with varied scenery. As we left Grangeville, we entered the Nez Perce reservation where we stopped for fairly cheap fuel – we’ve found our big Chevvy Tahoe to be more economical than we’d feared. We could also have purchased cheap “smokes” and possibly some fireworks, as well as have a gamble in the Nez Perce owned casino and hotel. Gambling has brought significant wealth to many North American tribes.

French explorers and trappers indiscriminately used and popularized the name "Nez Percé" for what were originally the Nimíipuu people, and the nearby Chinook. The name translates as "pierced nose", but only the Chinook used that form of body modification. So they got that wrong!

One set of roadworks caused a 30 minute delay. We just missed the convoy through and had to wait for a seemingly endless stream of traffic in the other direction. That eventually dried up, then two trucks carrying fresh tarmac were called forward, presumably by radio, from behind us.

The queue behind must have been at least a mile long. At last, the pilot car lead us through the works and, yes, they were actually working on upgrading the road.

As we approached our destination, the farming became more intensive with more cattle, fields of rape and also much alfalfa being grown. No sign of potatoes, though, which are grown elsewhere in Idaho.

Altough Idaho was much tidier than most states we have passed through, there is always some junk for those who collect it!

Our planned breakfast turned into a disaster. We had planned to stop at the “Breakfast Club” in Moscow. It turned out that this was a university town and the downtown, where the restaurant was, was very busy and there was nowhere to park. Instead, we stopped for a rest in the next Rest Area and decided to head for Denny’s in Cd’A for a very late breakfast.

A Trump supporter wondering what the plate in front of him was for.

The traffic and mis-direction, as well as a rather sloppy Denny’s rather put us off this town. But today we have grown to like it very much. We took a drive round Lake Cd’A and we were the only tourists on the scenic drive. What little traffic there was, was made up of locals. We came back to town and managed to park in Downtown which was very busy.

Send for Vera! A skeleton found by the side of the road.

We then enjoyed a car wash. Though “automatic” and “touchless”, two lads pressure washed us before going into the machine, which was rather like an old Ghost Train ride, and two more lads polished the car up at the end. Not bad for the $15 “Luxury Wash”. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the most up-market Walgreens we’ve been into. And we plan to go back to Elmer’s Diner for our evening meal, where we had enjoyed this morning’s breakfast.

The clever system on the car that shows it from above has been a great help parking. How does that work?

We’d chatted to our waitress about our living in Spain and she said her mother was “white Mexican” and only had a little English, but her father was a “white man” so the waitress had never learned to speak Spanish.

Mildred and partner were two ducks which hung around the side door of our hotel, which we used to get to the car. Bob was shocked when he went out to collect stuff from the car, only to be confronted by these two ducks. Apparently they are usually hanging around the hotel. The receptionist couldn't remember the name of Mildred's drake! Arthur suggests it might be Francis, Sir Francis.....?

It is said that C d'A is full of very rich people, and very poor people who, presumably, serve the rich people.

See you soon!

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