Vacation in Clear Creek
Last week I got my first time off in Alaska. I got a week off including the Fourth of July. I get one more week off at the end of July, and my parents are going to fly to Anchorage to have a vacation with me. After that I have a couple more days of work before I go back to Wyoming and get ready to return to Tech.
Like I mentioned in earlier posts pretty much everything on the slope is run by oil companies. That includes the airlines. This is one of the old 737's owned and operated by BP and ConocoPhillips. They used to land these things on a gravel runway next to BP's main camp; luckily a new airport has been built since then. There is no alcohol allowed on the slope so a lot of people jump at the opportunity to buy some on the flight back to Anchorage. They will sell you a maximum of two beers or mini bottles of liquor for two bucks each. I was one of the few people who didn't purchase the maximum at the earliest opportunity. I felt like the only non-Alchy on the plane at three in the afternoon.
One of the other interns that I work with, Kaytee, is from Alaska so I bummed a spot on her camping trip so I could see more of the state. We didn't want to leave for the woods right away so we spent a night chilling with a few of her friends at her condo at the Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood a little less than an hour from Anchorage. This is the view from her patio; I have to admit I'm jealous of the ski-in-ski-out location.
After a day at the condo we drove a few hours into the interior of Alaska to a small town named Talkeetna where we started our half hour river boat ride to Clear Creek. This is me with the huge purple pack I borrowed. Behind me is the boat that took us to our drop off point.
Most people set up their camp on the rocky shore next to where the boat drops them off so they wouldn't have to haul there gear very far. We hiked all of our gear about a mile to this area that is closer to the fishing hole and on softer ground. This is half of our campsite including the fire, my tent, our lean-to, and a barely visible river in the background. About half way between the tent and the river is where we saw three brown bears (a sow and two cubs). I didn't have time to get a picture, but they were very good looking bears. They were exciting to see because I have only seen black bears and grizzlies in Wyoming; I'm still holding out hope for a polar bear sighting.
Here is the other half of our camp with our chairs, the cooler, the igloo tent, and my camping buddies. From left to right it is Ashleigh, Kaytee, and Collin. They all grew up in Alaska so they were good guides for me. The igloo tent reminds me that I have had several requests to smuggle an Eskimo back to Georgia as a gift for my friends. The Alaskan government is giving me quite a hard time with that; it seems they frown upon that sort of thing. Don't worry; I'm still trying.
Here is a picture of me fishing. I almost look like I belong there with my hip waders and the fishing shirt I got while working for The Two Fly charity fishing tournament in Casper. I was able to recall most of the fishing skills I honed fishing for trout in a pond with my Donald Duck fishing pole, but it was the first time I had fished in a while. Unfortunately, the creak didn't have nearly as many salmon as it usually does for some reason. You could tell people were used to catching a lot of fish there because there were lots of people trying there luck, but I only saw about ten king salmon get hooked among over fifty people over four days. I was not lucky enough to haul one in. I came pretty close because a girl cast her line over mine and got it caught with mine and then we caught a fish, but it turned out to be on her hook even though I did most of the work reeling it in. Oh well, maybe I'll catch one when my family comes to visit. I'm told the end of July is the best time to catch silver salmon. Aside from not catching fish and the mosquitoes (they are as bad as people say, locals call bug repellent Alaskan perfume) I had a really good camping trip during our four days at Clear Creek.
We returned to civilization for showers, shaving, and better food in the afternoon on the Fourth. That left me one day before I had to return to work so I spent it sight seeing in downtown Anchorage. I had lunch and a pint at a mini brewery before wandering around the town visiting historical sights, lookouts, and souvenir shops. One of my favorite stops was this log cabin visitor's center with a sod roof right in the middle of downtown. It is the same style as some of the old log cabins you can occasionally still find in the Alaskan bush lands. I really enjoyed my week off exploring more of the state than the flat tundra. I'm excited to hopefully see more of the coastal areas when my family comes to visit me on my other week off.
Like I mentioned in earlier posts pretty much everything on the slope is run by oil companies. That includes the airlines. This is one of the old 737's owned and operated by BP and ConocoPhillips. They used to land these things on a gravel runway next to BP's main camp; luckily a new airport has been built since then. There is no alcohol allowed on the slope so a lot of people jump at the opportunity to buy some on the flight back to Anchorage. They will sell you a maximum of two beers or mini bottles of liquor for two bucks each. I was one of the few people who didn't purchase the maximum at the earliest opportunity. I felt like the only non-Alchy on the plane at three in the afternoon.
One of the other interns that I work with, Kaytee, is from Alaska so I bummed a spot on her camping trip so I could see more of the state. We didn't want to leave for the woods right away so we spent a night chilling with a few of her friends at her condo at the Alyeska ski resort in Girdwood a little less than an hour from Anchorage. This is the view from her patio; I have to admit I'm jealous of the ski-in-ski-out location.
After a day at the condo we drove a few hours into the interior of Alaska to a small town named Talkeetna where we started our half hour river boat ride to Clear Creek. This is me with the huge purple pack I borrowed. Behind me is the boat that took us to our drop off point.
Most people set up their camp on the rocky shore next to where the boat drops them off so they wouldn't have to haul there gear very far. We hiked all of our gear about a mile to this area that is closer to the fishing hole and on softer ground. This is half of our campsite including the fire, my tent, our lean-to, and a barely visible river in the background. About half way between the tent and the river is where we saw three brown bears (a sow and two cubs). I didn't have time to get a picture, but they were very good looking bears. They were exciting to see because I have only seen black bears and grizzlies in Wyoming; I'm still holding out hope for a polar bear sighting.
Here is the other half of our camp with our chairs, the cooler, the igloo tent, and my camping buddies. From left to right it is Ashleigh, Kaytee, and Collin. They all grew up in Alaska so they were good guides for me. The igloo tent reminds me that I have had several requests to smuggle an Eskimo back to Georgia as a gift for my friends. The Alaskan government is giving me quite a hard time with that; it seems they frown upon that sort of thing. Don't worry; I'm still trying.
Here is a picture of me fishing. I almost look like I belong there with my hip waders and the fishing shirt I got while working for The Two Fly charity fishing tournament in Casper. I was able to recall most of the fishing skills I honed fishing for trout in a pond with my Donald Duck fishing pole, but it was the first time I had fished in a while. Unfortunately, the creak didn't have nearly as many salmon as it usually does for some reason. You could tell people were used to catching a lot of fish there because there were lots of people trying there luck, but I only saw about ten king salmon get hooked among over fifty people over four days. I was not lucky enough to haul one in. I came pretty close because a girl cast her line over mine and got it caught with mine and then we caught a fish, but it turned out to be on her hook even though I did most of the work reeling it in. Oh well, maybe I'll catch one when my family comes to visit. I'm told the end of July is the best time to catch silver salmon. Aside from not catching fish and the mosquitoes (they are as bad as people say, locals call bug repellent Alaskan perfume) I had a really good camping trip during our four days at Clear Creek.
We returned to civilization for showers, shaving, and better food in the afternoon on the Fourth. That left me one day before I had to return to work so I spent it sight seeing in downtown Anchorage. I had lunch and a pint at a mini brewery before wandering around the town visiting historical sights, lookouts, and souvenir shops. One of my favorite stops was this log cabin visitor's center with a sod roof right in the middle of downtown. It is the same style as some of the old log cabins you can occasionally still find in the Alaskan bush lands. I really enjoyed my week off exploring more of the state than the flat tundra. I'm excited to hopefully see more of the coastal areas when my family comes to visit me on my other week off.
posted by Patrick at 2:02 AM
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