Welcome to Rich Hudgins N5ALE Web Page

Buffalo as seen on the side of the road no moose or bear yet but still looking




The sign forest at Watson Lake





2015 July 2 Tuesday

Left very early 05:45 on the road but had a very good nights sleep even in downtown Watson's Lake it is quite.   Did pass thru white horse and stopped for gas burger and beer then fled the city.  Its the largest city that I have been in since I left Billings Montana.  I heard that there are 31,000 people in the Yukon and 30,000 are in White Horse and I believe it.  So I ended up at a little state park called Pine lake location near Haines Junction gps N60deg 48 minutes .69 seconds or N 60.8001931
long W137deg 29 minutes 20.77 seconds or -137.48910462 nice and quiet.  This truely is looking out of Gods Front door.




One of the many lakes and ponds near the hiway with a great back drop.



Some of the  Park Personnel on duty.



Tomorrow ALASKA Maybe
Well I made it to Alaska   just after lunch and drove thru some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen it was rainy and the clouds were low and shrouded the mountains and made some great pictures



On the way to the Tork river camp site I saw a bear and a Moose with her baby cross the hiway.  I find I like to get up very early and drive the hiways then as most people are still asleep and not on my bumper.  The sign that I have been looking for.  Just where I go from here I dont know beyond a stop in Fairbanks and Anchorage.  I will try to stay at some of  the military  bases and recreational areas, but dont know how that will work out.




Stayed the night at the Tok River state park on the Tok River.  Its another state park with no power no water and no sewer.  I did have the vault toilet which is a large portapottie set in the ground.  Very clean .

2015 July 4  Happy fourth of July..
    This is a picture of a small river.  One of many that flow in Alaska as you can see its not full but when the snow melts it becomes a raging torrent.



Stopped for  three days at  Eielson AFB south of Fairbanks. 



2015 July 5 Sunday
    Well today is wash clothes and go to church day and other than that put a crockpot of beans on for lunch or dinner.  After putting the beans on I discovered that I had left the Texjoy Steak seasoning at home and of course no body up here had any.  Well I will make do with some McCormic something or the other but its not the same.  Had a little rain this  morning just enough to dampen down every thing and raise the humidity to 66 percent.  As I am sitting here writing this some of the local wild life wandered thru my front yard.  I took this picture out of the window by the table.



I also want to say that the first thing I did after getting setup yesterday was to go to the BX and get a hair cut and have my beard trimmed not that much but enough that it doesnt get between me and the pillow anymore.  The picture below is of a B29 that was decommissioned  and placed in a small pond to  be used for water extraction training but as you can see the ducks have taken it over .



Below is a picture of the showers and laundry  building on site and the last on is a picture of the approach to my camp site, very secluded  each site is seperated by about 10 feet of brush and woods.
the road to my site...



2015 July 6 Monday
   A day of rest, it rained some this morning but nothing very much I got the propane filled after two weeks of coffee [heat the water] and two nights of the reffrigerator it took 1.6 gals so not to bad.

2015July 7 Tuesday
    Its raining here at Eielson as I break camp and get ready for the long trek to Fairbanks [a whole 25 miles] but a gentle rain.  Fairbanks is socked in with smoke from the wild fires in the interior which should I am told clear this evening.  On the way here I passed thru the North Pole alaska  and Got a picture of Santa in repose.



The family camp at Fort WainWright is secluded off to the left when you go thru the main gate and Out door Rec is right there on the way to the camp.  The only problem is they are closed tuesday and wednesday so I had to go and find the camp Hosts which was not a big problem as they are in the first slot as you pull in.  Y ou can see the smoke in the trees at the camp site as well as how seclude it is.  The Fort is almost right down town so thats pretty amazing.  There is no wifi here so I will have to go to the BX again to update the web page but thats getting to be a regular thing for me.




2015 July 8 Wednesday
   Well the day started off pretty nice with a little smoke but not as much as yesterday.  I finaly got out the little generator I brought with me [1000 watts] and tried it out on the microwave in the trailer, I know I should have tried it before I left but It slipped past me in the rush.  Noop it would not run the microwave, so I went down to Sportsman's warehouse in  Fairbanks and bought a honda EU 2000 two thousand watt generator.   It did just fine and I got it for less then most places list the generator for by about two hundred dollars. So here I sit enjoying the quiet and a fine beer made in Alaska [Chuli Stout] brewed in Talkeetna.



Tomorrow I will see about visiting some of the local sights.
2015 July 9
  Went to Pioneer Park today and enjoyed some of the sights. Saw some of the early transportation options in Alaska.   This is the Stern wheeler Nenana, that plied the Yukon river and others for thirty or fourty years early in the 20th century.  It was 57 degrees and 65 percent humidity this morning and I have all the blankets I brought with me on the bed I may have to go and get another comforter.



Below are a couple of early outboard motors that were used here.  I like the muffler on the closer one and the one in the back apears to be fixed with a rudder built into it.




This is a recreation of one of the streets using the original homes taken from different places in Fairbanks.  Some from the Red light district. 



While I was there I talked to one of the hosts who has lived in Fairbanks for most of her life but was born and raised in Beaumont.  We talked about Beaumont in the Forty's  and she mentioned they were having an Opera production that evening at the local high school auditorium.  Well never having seen an opera I decided to go and see this one.  It was Hansel and Gretel.



Some what expensive but they had some professional talent as well as local performer's.  Aside from not being able to understand every thing it was pretty good. So I had a rather late night last night and didn't get in until after 22:30 [and it was still light outside]. I am running the generator this morning as the solar panels dont quite keep up with all these trees and over cast days, not to mention the sun never gets very high above the horizon to begin with.

2015 July 10
    Checked out the Alaskan Railroad, they have a day trip to  Denali it leaves at 08:00 and returns at 20:00 with a three and a half hour layover in Denali.  Since it travels thru some of the country that the road doesnt I think I will take it Monday.  But for Saturday a trip to the HooDoo Brewing company here in Fairbanks. Pictures to follow.

  2015 July 11 Saturday
  Checked out the HOODOO Brewing company here in Fairbanks.  Pretty neat place and the beer was first rate.  Tried to get something setup to put an antenna in the trees here but so far no luck. 



Thats the all weather beer truck there.  They have half gallon glass jugs that you can bring in and refill.  Boy if you are bored in Fairbanks in the summer you lack imagination. 



They have a little patio where you can get a beer inside and sit and enjoy outside.
Also a food truck backs up to the patio and sales food.


2015 July 13
  Alaska Railroad Trip to Denali National park.  The train left Fairbanks at 08:00 so of course I was there at 06:30 to get my ticket and wander around for a while. 




Some very beautiful countryside  to be seen I got  the gold star ticket more expensive but includes open air double decker cars with dinning below.  This picture was taken from B car and shows the engines and A passenger car in front. It took about four hours to make it to Denali and there was a three and a half hour layover at the station.  There were lots of exhibits and a very nice lunch counter there so the time went swiftly.  Below is a picture of the mountains from one of the waiting shelters by the tracks.








A shot of the train as it is arriving back into Denali station. I also have a short movie of the train traveling through a river gorge so enjoy.  This is best viewed with windows media player.

Alaskan Rail Road Train

2015 July 14
  Rest and clean up Well today is a cloudy sprinklie day and cold.  It is about 60 degrees and wet.  The humidity is 70 percent so its clammy.  Apparently they don't get rain up here as we know it just little sprinkles so far.

2015 July 15
   Well another day in Fairbanks I am waiting for the us post office to deliver a letter up here that Darin sent to me from home.  It was supposed to arrive here on Monday.  The thing that bothers me is when I track it, the page says it arrived in the distribution point in Texas and then it just stops updating.  I guess the pony express takes a while to make it from Texas to Alaska.  And of course the post office is absolutely no help at all.  I didn't include a picture of the train car on the Alaskan Rail road train so here it is.



2015 July 16
  Still waiting for the post office, but it did rain this morning about 05:00 here, a nice rain but a short one.  I am not sure what I will do today but sight see some more.
   I decided to take a trip today and see some of the sights north of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway Alaska hiway 6.  This picture is looking out  to the  right of the truck going up the Steese highway.


I made it 83 miles north and could have gone further but I decided to turn around and come back to Fairbanks.  This is a picture of  the original trail between Fairbanks and Circle alaska.  wide enough for a man to walk or a dog team to mush I guess.


This picture is  of the  original Steese Hiway before it was improved and paved [ at least for 75 miles out of Fairbanks so far] I got about two miles down it before I ran into a rather large mud puddle that looked like an axle breaker so I turned around.  I cant imagine taking a truck down this thing for 150 miles.  It would have been a three day trip at least.



And finally

 
I did stop at the only bar/ restaurant / hotel on the whole hiway and had breakfast and coffee.  I was mistaken for Santa Clause by one of the old timers there and had to promise to bring him something good for Christmas.  All that stuff you see on the ceiling are one dollar bills tacked up and signed by visitors.  As you might expect the place had some real characters.



2015 July 17
   I think I will head north to a little camp grounds I saw yesterday about 70 miles north of  Fairbanks for the weekend and be back in Fairbanks on Monday.  That far out there is not cell phone coverage at all so it should be a quiet weekend.

2015 July 18
   I loaded up and went to Cripple Creek campground maintained by the BLM about 70 miles north of Fairbanks. There is not much here it is one of the few places that I can not get any VHF or UHF signals AT ALL.   So far the weather has been cool [58 degrees in the camper this morning ] and rainy so I have had to run the generator for an hour or two to make sure the batterys are charged.  Most of the time the Solar panels work just fine.  On the way up I passes Poker Flats where the be do rocket launches from time to time. 



This is Cripple Creek and has an old trappers cabin on the banks along some of the trails.  I went this morning to see if I could get some pictures but the battery's in the camera died just as I was getting close.  I will go tomorrow if the weather eases up some and get some pictures.  I did see some moose droppings on the trail but I don't know how fresh they were. [No I am not going to pick one up and sniff it]. 

So far the camp ground is empty except for me and another camper an older couple, and very quiet at night.  Several times I thought I heard something on the roof of the camper and sure enough about 05:30 this morning he was back so I popped out with my camera and caught the rascal.  One of the local squirrels looking for seeds.  look real close at the left side of the trailer.. Yes it is that bright at 05:30 in the morning.  Sunset is about 12:40 and sunrise is about 03:30 not much of a night





More later

2015 July 20 back to Fairbanks for one night  then on to Denali and Anchorage
    MY Package came today wonderful only a week late wow

2015 July 21
  On the way to Denali national park.  Well got here and all the spaces in the park were taken already, which is ok.  I went into the town of Denali and got the last space at the Rainbow RV park and hot dog stand.  [The dogs are pretty good to] Got all registered and stuff for the longest bus trip in the history of the park.  At least 12 hours and we have to get the bears to portage the bus across two rivers [ they like bribes I am told] I may never return????  Well even the bus driver below is praying.



In case you get lost



as seen from the street in Denali SNOW PACK in July



Tomorrow the fateful bus trip with bears lions and tigers OMY.

2015 July 22 Denali the fateful bus trip....

 Off we went in a turbo diesel [this will be come important later] School bus..  Yes thats right do you remember those seats in the yellow school busses made out of solid Pine with splinters and knots?  Well they live on in Denali national park.  We launched at 07:45  in the morning  with a full bus of total strangers but that was not to last.  We did see quite a few animals on our 184 mile trip there and back, countless Reindeer , eleven grizzly bears, five or more moose a flock of Dall Sheep [not goats we were assured they were not goats even though they could climb to the top of a pin and stand there for hours]

Nop no red nose on this one


BEAR


The driver assured us that these bears were vegebears and only ate small ground rodents and not people.  That must be so because the park employs people who's job it is to follow the bears around and count the berry seeds in their scat. [fancy name for POO].  And now for the Turbo story.  We were on our way just pas Eilison station at about 50 miles and suddenly there was a loud pop so the driver stopped the bus and checked the tires to see if one of them had blown, but no that wasn't the problem.  So we started backup and the bus would not pull its self up the hill at all.  The driver [Tim] called on the radio to  the dispatch station to ask for help and they told him to check the [here it comes] TURBO Clamps on the Radiator.  Sure enough we were one down on turbo clamps.  So we waited for 45 minutes on the side of the road until another bus came by that had a spare turbo clamp.  I guess that happens enough so that some of the drivers carry spares.  Well the long and the short of it was that by the time we did get to where we could see Denali it was shrouded in clouds....Rats....

  We also saw the most rare animal of all the N5ALE bus rat.



As we made our way back to the front gate [all of us praying please not another reindeer] the only fitting picture is.     THE END



Next Anchorage [or what now brown reindeer]
Arrived this afternoon and will be here for three days before I leave.

2015 July 24
    Well I changed that to four days so I can leave on Monday morning and stay Sunday for church and wash day.   Looking around at the Family camp on Richardson I found that black bears will from time to time wander through the camp and trash out any thing left outside.  Looking at the back of my little spot I can see what I think are a small bears tracks so I don't leave anything outside.  Today will be  a look over the city day I think. pictures later
 
2015 July 25/26
    Rain and cooler Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday morning I managed to get a shot of an F22 banking in to make a landing at Elmondorf AFB next door. 



Nice rain all night wonderful to sleep to.  Resting and getting ready to head further south on Monday morning.

2015 July 27
  On the  road at 07:00 and wouldn't you know it the gps took me right thru downtown Anchorage all 10 blocks of it. to get to the Seward Highway.   The Seward highway runs down the side of the bay on the east side of Anchorage.  Some of the rain and clouds from last night were hanging around some on the drive and looked pretty cool.



One of the ice sheets on the way to Seward






This is on the other side of Whittier the village at the end of  the road, I blinked and missed it the first time.  Of course it could have been hidden behind the fleet of fishing boats and cannery's at the docks.

I am camped on the hill to the left backup near the waterfall and creek.   It should make for some really fine sleeping  tonight.

2015 July 28
   Woke to the sounds of the waterfall and creek behind  the camp site,  very restful.  Well on my way to Seward but first to get back thru the tunnel.  It just so happened that I hit it exactly right and went straight in to the tunnel with no waiting.  So onward to Seward.  It was a very pretty drive with lots of mountains and fog and clouds but the best was once I got to Seward the city has an rv/tent park right down on the water of the bay.



So of course I parked there and went into the town of Seward.




There is more to it of course but this pretty well covers it for the most part.  I had lunch in a fish and chips place [21.00 for fish and chips with a beer ] and the young lady who was my  server was up  for the summer from Fort Worth trying to beat the heat.  I think she made it with morning temperatures in the upper 40,s to lower 50,s  I will stay here for two days and then head for Homer.


EARTH QUAKE 18:40 local time ......  ok ok it was a small one that just rocked the trailer for a few minutes but COOL and no tsunami .   All of us at the trailer park put the kids to watching the bay for receding water so we could all run like hell for higher ground.  The kids loved it and we had a good time talking about it.

2015 July 30
   Left Seward for Homer.   Lots of mountains and Rivers, More fisherman and traffic this time on the road.  Not to much construction but some.  The Alaskans I have talked to say there are only two seasons in Alaska Winter and Construction, and I be leave it.  Homer is a nice little city, its spread out across the hills and bays , and has a real RADIO SHACK not to much in it but it still has components and wires not just cell phones.  Homer also has a lot of BOATS.



This is just the pleasure craft marina, the commercial vessels have their own docks.  I am camped at the end of the spit  the last little bit of land in Homer.  I can only stay here tonight as they are expecting more people in with reservations.  I have made arrangements to move up to a camp on the cliffs overlooking Homer and the bay tomorrow.



2015 July 31
  I moved to the cliff side RV park in the hill above Homer and will stay here until  Monday morning.  I think you can see why from the picture below.  The sign says [Danger Cliff keep off Fence ] and they mean it the cliff drops off for several hundred feet.



The following picture if from Skyline drive above homer which is spread out quit a bit.