Juneau, AK

Thursday, March 31, 2016, I was up bright and early right after getting back from the Olympics the day before.  I picked up Bryce and we headed to the airport.  Flight loads were looking pretty dismal at that point, and I wasn't optimistic about making the 5:00 to Seattle.  The plan at that point was to try for the 5:00, then fly to Boise, then Seattle, and then get to Juneau in the afternoon.  It wouldn't be ideal and give us a lot of time, but at least we'd make it.

I was surprised when my name was called and we did get seats, in First Class too, and we were able to get to Seattle in time for the 7:45 flight to Juneau.

The flight to Juneau had plenty of open seats, and I got my own row.  When we were starting our descent into Juneau, however, the pilot suddenly aborted his landing and pulled back up due to the fog being too bad.  We circled for 1 hour until it finally cleared.  I was worried we'd end up in Anchorage and all of our plans would be ruined.  It was such a relief to finally touch down!

I picked up our rental car- a tiny Chevy Spark- and Bryce and I headed into town to get some lunch.  A friend from mechanic school told me The Hanger is a really great place right on the water to get some food, so we went there.  We had excellent baskets of fish (cod) and chips, and I threw in a bowl of clam chowder too.  After we finished eating it was off for adventures!

We headed out to Mendenhall Glacier first.  It's only a ten minute drive out of town, on the only highway, Alaska 7.  It's tucked away in the Mendenhall Valley, and there is a small lake at the end of the glacier.

We then decided to make the 2 mile round trip hike to Nugget Falls.  From the distance, it didn't look that big.  But when we got up close we realized just how gigantic this waterfall really is.

It was impressive to see a clear distinction between the clear silt free water from the falls flowing into the silt laden water in the glacial lake.  I wanted to go up and try and get some post cards or souvenirs from the visitor center, but was disappointed to find out it was closed for a private event.  So Bryce and I loaded back up into our little car and continued on down the highway.

Periodically we stopped to take pictures of the gorgeous views of the mountains.  Pictures can't even do the views justice.

We did finally reach a pull off for a trail-head leading to Herbert Glacier.  We set off at a brisk hike through tall groves of spruce.  We seldom got any opens, but when we did the views of the mountains were once again, magnificent.  Bryce had begun using his GPS to track how many miles we had hiked and by 4 miles we were seriously beginning to wonder if this glacier even existed.

Once we reached 4.5 miles, however, we rounded a rock wall and finally, there was Herbert Glacier!

Bryce and I took a short break, took some pictures, and I set up my tripod to get a good picture of us together.  Then we hit the trail again.

We speed hiked back to the car.  In all, our hike took 3 hours, and we covered 9 miles.  That was record pace for me!  But we wanted to continue on to the very end of the highway.  And we did, right up to a sudden iron gate that stopped at the edge of trees.  It was end of the road, so we turned back and drove all the way to Juneau to get dinner.

The night we drove through downtown Juneau (which I thought it hilarious there is even a downtown.  The city is so tiny).  A coworker had recommended we go to Red Dog Saloon.  Bryce and I found it, and the place was very neat.  You walked through the swinging wooden doors you see in the saloons in movies.  The walls, tables, and everything inside was very rustic.  There were even a couple guys singing and playing banjos and guitars.

By the time we got our food and were done, Bryce and I were wiped out.  Really exhausted.  We drove back over to the house we were staying in, on the upper floor.  We took showers and crashed into bed.

The next morning we were up in time to return the rental car and catch the 7:15 flight back to Seattle.  It had a quick stop over in Ketchikan, but we stayed on the plane.  Then we had no problem making a flight back to Spokane.  I was able to go home for a couple hours before I flew to Boise that same night.  But it was a nice, very fast paced trip to Juneau!  Great adventure, and a fabulous break from work and school!

Olympic Peninsula

On Sunday, March 27, 2016 my vacation from A & P school and work finally started.  I flew to Seattle on the 5:00 flight and waited for an old coworker friend, Sam, from Boise, to arrive.  When he did we picked up our rental car and headed out.  Our drive brought across the bridge in the Tacoma Narrows, before hooking up with Highway 101 and driving North.  We stopped a couple times to get some breakfast and drinks.  Our first view of the ocean was in the Straight of Juan De Fuca.


We had some scattered rain showers off and on, but by the time we reached Neah Bay it was pretty good weather.  The campground in Neah Bay that I had planned on us staying at for the first night didn't exactly look very appealing.  So we decided to find another location for the night, especially one that was out of the town.  So we drove to the trail head for Cape Flattery.

It promised to be a relatively easy hike, which Sam was grateful for as he was still working to recover from the flu.  It turned out to be true- it was a nice hike through the dense forest to reach Cape Flattery.  From the point we could look around at sea caves, rocky shoreline, and Tatoosh Island, with Cape Flattery Lighthouse resting on it.

After taking pictures, watching seals and eagles, and enjoying the view, we hiked back to our car.  We decided it was too early to make camp so we opted to drive a little south of Cape Flattery and hike to Shi Shi Beach.  It was a very muddy trail!  So many times Sam and I had to detour off the trail in order to not sink up past our ankles in the muck.

We finally neared a large opening in the trees and were greeted by the strong smell of rotting fish.  But the view of Shi Shi Beach was incredible.  The weather was perfect, a nice breeze blew inland, and the waves crashing into sea stacks was breathtaking.

We continued on down the trail and right as we began descending we entered Olympic National Park.  When we made it to the beach we discovered the source of the rotten fish smell.  Hundreds of thousands of small, dead jellyfish had been washed up in certain areas of the beach.  In some cases it was a giant slurry.  We soon discovered this "Jellyfish slurry of death" was common all along the coast.

After exploring a bit and taking a break we hiked back to the car and made the short drive to Hobuck Campground.  There was hardly anyone there.  We set up camp behind a barrier of trees and bushes next to the beach.  As the sun was setting we explored the beach, collecting a few sand dollars in the process.

The next morning we packed up camp and headed back inland so that we could meet back up with Highway 101 and continue south along the peninsula.  We reached Forks, WA, and started seeing signs about vampires.  Sam then remembered that Forks, WA is the setting for the Twilight vampire books.  Needless to say, we saw lots of teenage girls at the town's visitor center, as they got their pictures taken with cardboard cutouts from the movies.

We refueled and then visited the Ranger Station for Rialto Beach.  After getting some advice on hiking and camping we set our eyes on Hole in the Wall.  It was a nice hike along Rialto Beach.  We finally reached several sea stacks, tide pools, and of course, Hole in the Wall.

After finishing up that hike we decided we didn't want to camp on Rialto Beach.  So we drove down to La Push, then we went to the parking for Second Beach.  It was an easy 0.7 miles down to Second Beach.  It was nice and secluded.  There were a few people there when we arrived, but they were all day hikers.  Once the sun set, Sam and I had Second Beach to ourselves.  We had set up camp above the shore, sheltered from the breeze.  We were surrounded by a dense canopy of ferns, moss, and trees, and once again it was gorgeous weather.

We were able to get a fire going with some drift wood, and then we were treated to a gorgeous night sky.

The next morning we packed up and hiked out early.  Our next stop on our way south was the Hoh Rainforest.  It wasn't high enough elevation to be closed, like the main parts of the Park's interior.  Even with the warm dry weather we had had for a few days, the rainforest was still soaked.  It was pretty neat.

We hiked on the Hall of Moss trail.  We were treated to huge blankets of moss coating trees, vast sections of un-logged forest, crystal clear water, and we even saw an elk.

After finishing our hike we decided to continue on down to Kalalock and figure out what to do next.  We planned on camping in the National Park Campground in Kalalock.  Along the way we stopped at Ruby Beach where we saw more sea stacks and Destruction Island, with Destruction Island Lighthouse, and also some giant cedar trees.  It was amazing how many giant trees thrive along the coast.

A gal in a gift shop in Kalaloch recommended that we go down to the Quinalt Rainforest that afternoon.  We figured it was a good idea,  So down 101 we continued.  Quinalt Lake has a couple roads around it, and we were able to do a loop.  We entered back into the National Park and enjoyed the scenery.  At some points it was a narrow 1 lane gravel road cutting through the forest.

By the time we reached the south side of the lake we were pulling off to take pictures of waterfalls that we saw.

We also stopped off at what is supposed to be the world's largest Sitka Spruce tree.

By the time we made it back to Kalaloch it was 6:30 at night.  A lot of the campground was full, but we managed to find a spot.  We hastily set up camp, watched the sunset over the ocean, and then ate dinner and went to bed.

The next morning we packed up and drove home.  We stopped in Aberdeen, WA for some breakfast.  Sam went back to Boise, and I went back to Seattle.  Next stop for me was Juneau, AK! :)

2 days in Alaska

My grandparents have been spending their summers in Alaska lately, and my Mark cousin and Uncle Larry were headed up to Anchorage to gear up for a bear hunt and fishing trip.  Mark and I had been talking about me trying to fly up and meet them for some time, and for a change there were actually enough open seats to get me up there!

After working from 4 am- 6pm on Saturday August 1, I quickly changed clothes and hopped on a flight to Seattle.  From there I had about six flights to try and get to Anchorage on.  I gave up on the first one and wisely switched terminals to hop on board another one that departed 30 minutes later.  I was rewarded with an entire exit row all to myself.  With plenty of legroom, power outlets at every seat, and a movie on my laptop I made myself comfortable for the 3 hour flight to Anchorage.

I arrived around 1 am.  I only had 11 hours to kill before Uncle Larry and Mark arrived from Tennessee!  I had actually remembered to pack a pillow and planned on finding a quiet corner to at least sleep for a few hours.  However I discovered that Anchorage is a 24/7 airport.  It doesn't quiet down.  So I was only able to bag 2 hours of fitful sleep before resigning myself to Netflix and plane spotting around the airport.  It is always neat to see the constant stream of 747s in ANC.

Finally Uncle Larry and Mark arrived, and I met up with them at their Delta gate.  Then we all went to baggage claim to get their gear, and Grandpa and Grandma met us, along with my Grandpa's sister and another family friend.  The first order of business was food.  Uncle Larry treated us all to great food at Sourdough Mining Company.

The rest of the afternoon we went around Anchorage visiting some tourist shops, Earthquake Park, and then finally began the 1 hour drive up to Wasilla,   On the way we did stop and do a short hike to Thunderbird Falls, and stopped by an old Russian Orthodox Church.

We were staying in the church Grandpa and Grandma had been working at.  We got settled in, ate some dinner and got ready for our big day the next morning.  We would be doing a lot of traveling.

To start things off, we went to the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla.  They had some nice exhibits, a film to watch, and then got to see some retired sled dogs.

We also stopped off next to Wasilla Lake.  In the winter time, it is where they start the Iditarod race.  We could see Denali far in the distance.

After this stop we began our journey up Hatcher's Pass.  The scenery changed from forest, to scrub brush, to bare tundra.  It was quite the transition.  We stopped several times along the way to take pictures and get out of the van.

We stopped at the top of the pass, and Mark, Uncle Larry, and I did some more quick hiking.  We went up a steep switchback trail to get some better views of the surrounding area.

The real treat, however, was on the East side of Hatcher's Pass.  We arrived at the Independence Mine.  Some of the buildings had been restored, others left where they were built, deteriorating.  It was now an Alaska State Park.

The mine was opened in 1938 and over the course of 5 years almost 6 million dollars worth of gold was removed.  During WW2 it was shut down, and then reopened for a little while until gold mining was deemed unprofitable.  It was officially closed in 1951.

We all ate lunch, and then toured the ruins.  One of the lower water tunnels, dug to connect with the upper level mine shafts.  Cold water runs from the mountain, and out the still intact entrance, although it is gated.  It kept the mine at about 38 degrees.

On the drive back down we were going to go through Palmer, before heading back to Wasilla.  We stopped along the Little Susitna River.  It's fed from glaciers and snow melt above Hatcher's Pass and the surrounding mountains.  The water was a deep glacier blue.  It was beautiful.

Once we were in Palmer, we drove around to see the gorgeous views of the mountains and farmland, and briefly stopped at the Musk Ox Museum.  I can't say I've ever seen a more beautiful landscape to farm in.

We also stopped at an overlook outside Palmer to take some pictures of the Matanuska River.  I was blown away by the gorgeous scenery of the "braided river" and the surrounding mountains.

That night we all went out to eat at the Noisy Goose in Palmer.  It was a great restaurant with plenty of entertaining signs hanging everywhere.

The following morning I was up bright and early, and Uncle Larry drove me back down to Anchorage so that I could catch my flights back to Spokane.  I actually use a Positive Space ticket to get home, so I wouldn't have to stress about getting an open seat.

Vancouver, BC

In April I flew up to Vancouver, B.C. to give presentations for work.  Me and one of the guys on our project decided to stay an extra night to give us a chance to explore part of the city.

We took the Skytrain to downtown and started our adventure.

After briskly walking through Chinatown, and suddenly finding ourselves in the middle of drug requests, we made it to a stretch of water.  The view of the mountains was amazing.

There was lots of people mulling about enjoying the sunny and warm afternoon.  We basically continued walking along the waterfront for a good hour or so, before cutting through a large park area to get to the south side of the city.

We sat on the beach and watched the sunset over the ocean, before walking back into downtown to catch the Skytrain back to the airport, and then have the hotel shuttle driver pick us up.

Riverside, CA

I had a couple days off work, so I went down to Southern California to visit my cousin Townsend at college.  I got out on the first flight from Spokane, to Portland.  On the way I got some gorgeous photos of Mt. Hood in the morning sunlight.

                                           (Mt. Hood, with Mt. Jefferson in the distance)
  I decided I'd rather spend a few extra hours waiting in Portland to get a seat on a flight that was wide open, than be packed into a full one.  The extra wait was worth it.  I flew into Santa Ana/Orange County airport and Townsend picked me up.

We walked around his college, and then went out to the Aviation department's location, next to the small airport.  One of the instructors gave us access to the flight line and we got to walk along looking at all the aircraft, including an old C-47 from WWII.

That evening we went to the cafeteria there... I wish I could have had food that good while I was in college.

In the morning Townsend drove me up to Ontario, and I flew back to Portland from there, on one of the Alaska flights operated by Skywest.

On the way, I was trying to get a picture of Mt. Shasta.  I'm 99% sure it was Shasta, but I couldn't get any great pictures.