a walk down memory lane

November 7, 2013

 

Where does the time go?  A little over a month ago we returned from our EPIC adventure.  And I am only now finishing up the blog. Sigh.  Life is just too fun to sit in front of a computer.

 

This blog looks back at those who went before us...those who inspired us to travel North to ALASKA. The Alaska tradition runs deep in my family.  For that, I am so incredibly thankful.

 

A walk down memory lane...

 

Back in the summer of 1948, my grandfather (my mom's dad, Gramps or Bill) set off on an adventure with his friends.  They headed North.  According to my grandma, Clella, Gramps spent most of his time up in Fairbanks where he worked in a hardware store.  He worked at Samson's Hardware: He also worked at Creamers Dairy.

 

The article below was published in the Los Angeles Times on Monday, June 14, 1948.  Gramps and three of his buds....and don't forget about their dog, Lou.

 

Los Angeles Times, 06/14/1948

Can you believe how young they were?!

 

Exactly thirty years later, on June 23, 1978 my parents boarded the ferry to voyage up the Inside Passage. My mom happened to be about 3 months pregnant with my brother at the time.  They journeyed through Alaska for just under a month - returning to Seattle via ferry on July 20.



Ferry time: Colter...front and center!

Getting ready to board the ferry...Bonnie Jean back and center!
 

Waking up to the sunrise on the deck up in the Solarium

Colter and I play up on the Solarium.

I love looking back on these pictures of my family- not only do they look incredibly young, but I think it is awesome that we did so many of the same things decades later.  We opted for the cabin luxury with a toddler, but someday I want to sleep on the decks with all the other hippies.

 

Glacier cruise-in'...

 

Scoping out Glacier Bay

Waking up after a train ride to Denali National Park

 

Dad lounges at the US-Canadian border.  Love the pants, Pops.

The Alaska border sign had an upgrade...

 

Then during the summer of 1985, Clella and Gramps set out on a 10 week voyage through Alaska.  10 weeks!  So jealous.  They departed their home in Whittier, CA on June 21, 1985 and pulled back into the driveway August 30.  They drove to Fairbanks and visited the places Bill worked many moons ago - apparently Samson's Hardware had a facelift and Creamers Dairy had morphed into Creamers Wildlife Refuge specializing in geese and duck ponds.



The Scout, canoe and Clella outside the trailer.  Rad!

Malcolm style: Poptop and blow-up kayak.



 

Clella shared a few journal entries from their trip:

 

Ferried from Skagway to Haines (5:45 a.m.)

Haines highlights:
Chilkoot Bakery - delicious apple/raisin cinnamon rolls, good bread

Drove the Haines Hwy. through an Eagle Preserve - lunch at Million Dollar Falls.

Haines Junction:
Grocery shopped....good prices.
End of pipeline supplying trucks during World War II.   Pipeline no longer in use.

Visit to Silver City - ghost town (trading post 1902-1924 and World War II army base)
That night camped at the Kluane Lake in a Government Campsite.

 

The boys fishing Kluane Lake 28 years later.

The Big Girl parked on the shores of Kluane.

 

From Haines we took most of the month of July and did the Wrangell Mountain
Area, Copper River Hwy., Valdez, Glen Highway to Kenai Peninsula and Homer.
Spent several days at Stariski State Recreation area near Homer. *In our
time, it was a beautiful remote campground but imagine it is a busy one now.*

Then went to Anchorage.  Enjoyed the Nancy Lake Recreation area = especially
South Rolly Lake (no motors allowed).   Took the George Park Hwy.  Then
Denali National Park.  Backtracked to Cantwell and drove the Denali Hwy to
Tangle Creek/Tangle Lake.  Took Richardson Hwy.  This hwy has spectacular
pass to Valdez, flat land of Fairbanks, and farming area of Delta Junction.



Clella in camp recharging the battery.   I just love this picture.


So many wonderful memories....from four generations.  I can only hope that 30 or so years from now Colter will take his own adventure North - if not before.  Thank you, friends and family, for joining us on this grand adventure.  I reckon it's time to start dreaming up another incredible vacation - until then, you can catch a bit of our "everyday life" at http://babymalcolm111711.blogspot.com/ .

ALASKA.  Until next time...

 

John Muir said it well,

 

"Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature's sources never fail."



there and back again....

October 6, 2013

Total Days: 31

Total Mileage (car): 7990.5

Total Mileage (with ferry): 8836

Total Driving Time: 163 hours, 54 minutes (almost 7 days!)

Home sweet home.

The Malcolm Family - home again!

It feels great to be home.  After the push of the last few days, you can only imagine how great it feels to be out of the truck.  We got home around 9pm on the 3rd - it took Colter a few minutes to process where we were, but then it was Christmas day.  He rediscovered all his toys, hopped on his Mopi (bike) and sped around the house for the better part of an hour.

Home. 

A map of our adventure:

Now THAT'S a map.

And some fun facts:

Farthest point North: Galbraith Camp, Alaska (Point J), 68 degrees 32.915 minutes
Farthest point South: Grand Canyon Village, Arizona (Point Y), 36.1000 degrees

# of States/Territories: 11

Total Night Breakdown:
       Camping: 15
       Friends/Family: 7
       Hotels: 5
       Ferry: 4

Total Gallons of Diesel: 527.3

Maximum gas price: $1.49/L or $5.63/gal in Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Minimum gas price: $3.71/gal in Salt Lake City, Utah

Teeth popped: 2



What a ride!  We can't wait to go back.  Thanks for journeying with us....one more blog in the making that I should be posting in the next few days....

the lower 48

October 1, 2013

Day: 30

Total mileage (car): 7480

Total mileage (with ferry): 8325.5

It has been a rockin' few days.  We're camped out at La Quinta just south of Salt Lake City and we only have 500 miles to go.  When you've come this far, 500 miles is just a drop in the bucket. 

We knew the last few days would be a push.  It's always a bit more challenging with a toddler.  We've managed.  Hot dogs with ketchup dip-dip always makes for a delicious car dinner - organic, naturally.  We've sang plenty of songs and danced around like those crazy parents you always look at when you're twenty and think, "I will never be like that."  But you will.  You can make it into a mini exercise if you really try.



SO happy to be out of the car

We stopped at a few parks throughout Canada.  CJ and I had a competition to see who could get across these swingy-feet-balance thingies.  I won (he'd probably say otherwise).  They had a metal slide at one park and Colter flew off of it.  He's a tough kid-  he looked shocked for a second, then laughed and got right back up to do it again.  We ran up and down a hill for a good ten minutes.



Exploring the playgrounds in British Columbia

We waved goodbye to Banff as we drove past Calgary.

We'll be back, Banff.

And then we crossed the border back into the lower 48.

It feels good to be back stateside.  I can't wait to get back up to Alaska but it is pretty great down here too.  The winds picked up in Montana and our Yakima roof carrier slid a good 6 -10 inches in the easterly direction.  Two semi-trucks were blown off the road.  Crazy winds.

Opening another grandma present!

Great Falls, Montana last night.  The Great Salt Lake tonight.  And tomorrow we'll be curled up in our bed.  At home.  With the shutdown, I reckon it's going to be nice and quiet.

Late night snuggles.

midnight panic at mcdonald's

September 28, 2013

Day: 27

Total mileage (car): 5501

Total mileage (including ferry): 6,346.5

It’s been a wild few days.  The mileage is rackin’ up.  We are in “go” mode. 

Hanging out at Kluane Lake.

The Big Girl lookin' good.

We stopped off in Whitehorse a night or so ago (they all blend together at this point) after a fun day of driving.  We had stopped and fished in Kluane Lake earlier.  CJ was hoping for a 30 lb Lake Trout that the lake is famous for – and planning to catch it on his 6 lb test line.  I suppose it’s a good thing he didn’t get any bites because I’m about 99% sure his pole would have broke.  The size of the lure was quite impressive, however, and he could really chuck that thing into the lake.  The Yukon is such a magnificent place.  We can’t wait to get back – I know Ceeg can’t wait to hook one of those big trout.  I can’t wait to eat it.

Goin' for the big one

Helloooo mountain goats by a really old cabin

Big fellow

So we roll into Whitehorse around midnight.  Colter is passed out and we are starving.  We hit up McDonald’s (Canadian ketchup is way too sweet by the way) and took out the map.  We’ve got 4 more days of driving and we need to figure out a plan of attack.  I plug in the numbers into my nifty difty iPhone and wait for Siri to tell me the fastest route.

“Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Grand Canyon Village, Arizona:  4562 miles.”

CJ and I look at each other.  And then the panic sets in.  4500 miles?!?!!  4 days?!?!  There is just no bloody way it can be done.  Unless we drive for 4 days, 24 hours straight.  I’m sweating and the tears are starting to creep in.  How could we have misjudged the distance?  Didn’t we look at this a week or so ago?  How can our fabulous road trip end with such a brutal last leg?

CJ’s frantically eating his Big Mac and asking me to plug it in again.  Does it have the right Whitehorse?  Is it taking us to a different Grand Canyon?  Of course not, silly. 

And then my dear, dear husband has a moment of brilliance.  “Is that in miles or kilometers, Heather?” 4500 kilometers…2,000 miles.  Phew.  I admit I was still a bit shaken up but that definitely spared the tears. 

However, this did mean that we have had to cut out Banff and Glacier National Park.  But we’re already planning our next adventure northward – it is always great to have something to look forward to.  Looking back at all the pictures from this trip, I really can’t complain.

Moooooose!

It's cool, I'm riding a caribou.

Ridgecrest is never very far away...

Honk honk

Vroom vroom

Beep beep

On we go.  Today we still managed to play on old road building equipment (from building the Alaska highway back in the 40s) and fish along the Liard River.  As we drove south through British Columbia and the fabulous fall colors, we happened upon Liard Hot Springs.  What a fabulous way to end the day: A soak in the gorgeous waters before a long drive through the night.

That's my name!

 

Beautiful British Columbia

 

Hot springs :)

 

Liard Hot Springs....soooo lovely!

airing out

September 26, 2013

Day: 25

Total mileage (car): 4504

Total mileage (with ferry): 5349.5

Sun along the Matanuska River

When the sun is out in Alaska, you take advantage of it – especially after surviving what we have named, “Tropical Storm Chugach”.  We stopped along the Matanuska River for several hours.  The Malcolm’s claimed a small plot of land for some time.  We pulled our gear out of the truck, laid it all out and enjoyed the sun.  I made ham, cheese and avocado quesadillas.  Colter collected leaves and rocks. A mama moose and her calf wandered nearby and a bald eagle soared overhead.

Taking over.

Matanuska glacier (4 miles wide at the mouth and 20 miles long)

With all of our goods dry, we hiked along the river and fished for an hour or so.  No luck with fish.  But we had sun.

Let's go fishing, Dad!



Black bear print.

Birch trees in fall.

Wolf print.

Fishing on the Matanuska.

Tantrum-thirty!  He couldn't decide if he wanted his backpack on or off.

Fall fun

Can't get enough of those colors!

Sunset over Mt. Sanford in Wrangell St Elias