Mom, Craig, and my sister Sunny recently traveled up to Alaska for a visit! They flew into Anchorage (Mom and Craig from Alabama and Sunny from California). Crepe Suzette and I drove down to Anchorage to pick them up at the airport.
Since Chuck had to work he couldn’t make the trip with us. Poor Chuck. On the bright side, he got some time to himself to hunt, watch Rocky Balboa for the 57th time, and gather wood.
The family had hoped to stay in Delta Junction during their Alaska visit, but there weren’t any rentals available and if they’d bunked with us I am afraid everyone would have been uncomfortably cramped. I wanted their first visit to Alaska to be comfortable so to ensure follow up visits.
The drive to Anchorage took us about 6-7 hours. Along the way, I saw sights more beautiful than anything I’ve seen in Alaska yet. One drawback to the whole gloriously beautiful thing was that I spent most of the trip with my hands wrapped so tightly around the steering wheel my knuckles were white.
The beginning of the trip was windy, bumpy, and winding. I tried to leave the relentless winds of Delta Junction in Delta Junction, but they kept trailing behind me…and in front of me…and all around me. At one point I wondered how much wind it would take to toss the Ford from the road. When I noticed the hood of the truck fluttering, I hopped out to see if it was fastened properly. While my hair whipped around me like Medusa’s snakes on speed and my eyes were pelted with gravel bits from the side of the road, I determined the hood was in fact, latched.
The frost heaves have the road so badly damaged in certain areas, I would often find that there was air beneath the seat and my butt. My seat belt served as my tether, snapping me back into place before my head could reach the roof.
The middle of the trip was pretty average. Not as many beautiful sights but the roads were in good condition and there weren’t many obvious dangers along the way.
The last portion of the trip was just fraught with dangers. We powered over mountains with sheer drop-offs on one side and the jagged mountain side on the other. We passed signs like “Rough Road” and “Falling Rocks”. Oh and my personal favorite, “Avalanche Area”. There were times when I said to myself, “Could we get a guard rail PLEASE!!” I mean what the heck?? Why can’t we get some guard rails up in here? In some cases, there was absolutely nothing but death just beyond that white line and I wondered how long it would be before the road plunged into the deep (albeit beautiful) abyss of death.
I do not know how anyone would make the trip with snow or ice on the roads. The very idea gives me cold sweats. Please God, don’t freeze up that section of Alaska before I get home. Seriously. Please don’t.
Half of the trip, Crepe Suzette watched a movie and listened with her headphones while I drove in silence. The road was too dangerous to divert my attention to the CD case and when I mashed the seek button on the radio, it just sought and sought and sought. At the time, I preferred the quite. It was nice for concentration and taking in the view.
See that white line at the base of the mountain? That's the road where we had just traveled. Back in the left crook of the photo that can't be seen here was an enormous bridge curved into the mountain side. It was a little scary.
I pulled over here to take a photo of the road seen above. Backing back out into the road was too dangerous and there was no place else to turn around, so we traveled down this steep gravel road till it ended. It was well taken care of but there was a van parked down there...and we've all been taught to fear vans, right? I got the heck out of there.
See what I am talking about?? I didn't run down there to check for survivors because I saw the rust on the underside. Looks the owners just elected to leave it there after the accident.
The car you see at the end of the bridge was right in front of me the whole way down the mountain. Not knowing the bridge's weight capacity, I let him go on over before I set out. When I paused to take this photo, I noticed he was stopped there so I drove over and pulled up beside him. He was a young guy and said, "Ummm, am I supposed to be down here?" To which I replied, "Ummm, I don't know." When he seemed a little more unsure than I was (I was completely clueless) I said, "I think it'll be alright. Surely they would have put up signs if they didn't want us down here." With increased confidence we moved forward. Shortly after turning the next corner, I noticed a big semi rig and several horse trailers. I felt a lot better after that. I knew if someone got those big things down in that hole, we'd be alright. The lesson in all of this? Never, assume the guy in front of you has any more of a clue than you do.
These horses were roaming free deep down in the mountain.
When I arrived at this point, glacier access had been blocked and signs were posted that advised if you wanted to go further, you would need to go into this enormous gift shop and purchase a ticket. I did not elect to purchase a ticket.
On my way out I noticed this chair and thought it was odd.
Once we made our way up out of the tourist trap (where I literally felt trapped), we found this State Recreational Site with great (and free) views and clean restrooms.
The glacier is just over Crepe Suzette's right shoulder.
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aspunits/matsu/matsuglsrs.htm
The closer we got to Anchorage the more radio stations there were. There were also more leaves on the trees. They were hanging in brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. In Delta, most of our leaves fell a couple of weeks ago. There were other differences too. I absolutely knew we were getting close to the city when I heard a “CARS CARS CARS, ALL MUST GO, ALL VEHICLES MUST BE SOLD!!!” type of commercial. I don’t miss those.
When we hit the city limits, I immediately regretted not stopping at a public outhouse when I was out in rural Alaska. Going to the bathroom at Barnes and Noble was clean and spacious, but a whole heck of a lot of trouble. Before we went in, I felt compelled to put all of our luggage into the cab of the truck because I didn’t want it stolen. By the time we had walked through the whole store to get to the bathroom, I had already had to tell Crepe Suzette no 8-12 times. I mean, she wanted a $12.00 coloring book for crying out loud!
Also, in the city I was reminded of those thugs who, with no regard for anyone around them, play their radios so loud that their cars rattle with the beat. Gotta want to punch those guys right in the face.
Then I had an experience in the Wal-Mart parking lot that made me want to climb into a hidey hole in Delta Junction for long while. Apparently the Wal-Mart parking lot in Anchorage is so busy that they hire these people to wear orange vests and stand RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the main passageway to direct traffic. The problem I found with that (other than the obvious right in the middle of the passageway thing), was that those people seemed to have no idea what they were doing and left me confused and at a standstill for way too long.
You see that’s one problem I have with the city. In rural Alaska I’ve found that those in charge generally give the people the benefit of the doubt. You know, they expect you to use your own good sense to manage your life. There’s a cliff there? Who needs a guard rail? Drivers need to just slow their butts down and pay attention. There’s a lot of bears in those woods? Here. We’ll put up this sign and allow the good citizens to decide for themselves what is safe for their families. Oh you don’t like the neighbors’ dogs in your yard? Well then, YOU be the dog catcher. YOU talk to your neighbor about your problems. You want to use your very own property? Go ahead! Build something 9000 square feet, build something 27 square feet, build onto it in a strange fashion a couple of years later, have chickens, have pigs and roll in the mud with them for all we care!
In the city, they let the dummies rule. Now, I know people have accidents and we should learn from accidents. People who have accidents are not dummies. But, come on. Those who continually run over pedestrians in the Wal-Mart parking lot should not mess it up for the rest of us! Ok, I am sorry. Clearly the city life is not for me. Onward….
Obviously cities have benefits. Because the prices were so much better, I bought groceries while I was away even though it meant hauling them out of the truck into the cabin in Big Lake, back into the bed of the truck when leaving, the cabin later in the week, into the cab of the truck when we stopped at a hotel our last night, into the bed of the truck again after checking out of the hotel, and into the cabin once back in Delta. Yeah, I really love to save a few dollars. We visited several thrift stores during our city visits which was something I had missed terribly. Painfully even.
Because of the alarmingly huge amount of text and photos, I will break down the details of the time we spent with our family over the course of several posts.
I'm with you Hayley girl, those cliffs without guard rails? Are you kidding? I'll fly in the winter. Thanks! Sounds like you had a great time...I can't wait to hear more about it. ;)
ReplyDeleteGood post Hayley. I know you must have told me but I had no idea that your trip to was so dangerous. I guess a picture and a few very descriptive words paint a better picture. I can only imagine how hard the ride home was. You're a tough cookie Cinderella. Great photos. Can't wait for more.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading your post today :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you all the way on the city life. We live downtown in a small city of around 35,000. I think every emergency vehicle is required to take the road that we live on. constant noise 24/7 and not to mention McDonalds is beside us:(
I'm so ready to move to Alaska and reading your post confirmed in me that I do not belong here!
Looking forward to reading about your family's visit:)
"Why can’t we get some guard rails up in here? In some cases, there was absolutely nothing but death just beyond that white line and I wondered how long it would be before the road plunged into the deep (albeit beautiful) abyss of death."
ReplyDeleteAnddddddd...this is where I started breathing into a paper bag. Just kidding. Sort of.
That wild black stallion looks like it wants to get to know you a little better.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. Your writing is getting really really good and really really funny.
I think that is the creepiest chair stuck to the side of a house that I have ever seen. Also, I do not like the EDGE of things so when you talk about the EDGE of the road, it makes me feel like I am on it (the EDGE) right now. And that feels weird. Cuz I'm in my bed and it's s'posed to be comfortable up in hur.