Finally we got 100 Points!

Some of you may recognize the Wine Spectator logo above – I really couldn’t resist this little play on our Alaska experience. After landing in Anchorage we had to jump back into the van and head out to get up north towards the town of Palmer as we were scheduled to paddle the Knik glacier if the weather cooperated. We had no real agenda other than we needed to be somewhere near the helipad operation. As the weather is cooling quickly and the fall colors have started decorating the hills we are discovering that much of Alaska starts to slowly close. Finding and driving to campsites to only find that they have just closed became quite the adventure. We found one that advertised clean hot showers and campsites. When we arrived and found out not only did it not have clean showers, showers yes, but clean? When I commented to the young person at registration about the restrooms – his comment was, “well I guess that depends on your definition of clean.” We discovered the campsite is also available to public users which meant many of the campsites appeared to have been utilized and abandoned at some point. One night and we were out early – needless to say NO showers were taken.

Explored the small town of Palmer which appears to be having a bit of a renaissance as there was quite a bit of construction and upgrading taking place – even had a Fred Meyers and a Safeway. Felt like we were in a metropolitan town with the exception of no real hotels or places to eat but we did find a nice coffee shop and kombucha on tap at another stop.

Decided it was time to hit a more established campsite tonight and opted to camp at a KOA. Now I am feeling like a retiree in my RV. We camped in the midst of Cruise America, See Alaska, Go Alaska RV’s. Reminded me of one of our first days on the road in Canada with all the Cruise Canada RVs. The KOA was clean and the showers were some of the finest to date. Relieved to feel a bit more secure in our choice of campsites.

Taking a moment of gratitude for all we have and are able to do as on this day 9/11/01 took place and it was also the day we signed all our paperwork to create the partnership that allowed us to plant a vineyard and build our beautiful winery.

We did it! 100 Unique Bodies of Water (Not points but more exciting)

Day 29 September 12

Knik Glacier

Woke up to rain and thick clouds so with a bit of dread we drove the half hour to the helicopter launching area. Waited around for a few hours and were told we would be able to take off. Suited up in dry suits, hopped into the helicopter, traveled 15 miles up the valley to the Knik Glacier. A very wild experience as the pilot has to search for the guides who have found where on the glacier there is enough water to paddle. Finally we find our guides and he gently set us down nearby!

Though the idea of paddling a glacier sounds incredible, it can be a challenge as the water on the glacier changes daily. We were able to paddle around in one of the larger pools of water and down a glacier stream that ended in a moulin (look it up, it’s pretty scary) so we had to get off the boards and carry them to the next section which was just a bit too low to actually paddle. Gave up on the idea of paddling much and decided to just have fun swimming in the deep pools. At one point, we were trying for the romantic photo of both of us on an iceberg in a pool. Ron almost made me slide into the water so I adjusted my position so he ended up sliding in instead, we were giggling so much that it was almost impossible to get ourselves back up on to the iceberg. No “hot” romantic shots for us – the water was about 34 degrees F. It’s also a visually challenging hiking along as what appears to be slush is actually hard enough to walk but some of the holes are deeper than they appear and can grab your ankle as you are walking along. All in all a unique experience! Thankful that as we flew out the next couple hoping to go out had to shorten their experience due to heavy clouds moving in.

Jumped back in the van and drove 6 hours to get to TOK which was our first really long drive at night – not fun as the warning signs along the highway let you know the moose were lurking nearby.