Today as we leave Seward, we need to dump our tanks and fill with fresh water as we will be going to Girdwood (Williwaw Campground) again and will have no hookups. It rained overnight and is cloudy as we start the day at 8:45 a.m. with a temperature of 53 degrees.
After a breakfast of a bagel topped with a fried egg and peanut butter, we begin our journey for the day.
And off we go toward Girdwood, Alaska.
Soon we are only 54 miles from Girdwood.
However, we once again encounter road construction and it is a little windy.
However, once we get to Williwaw Campground the rain has let up and the sun is beginning to come out.
But when we get to the campsite that we reserved (site# 7), since it has rained a lot overnight, our site is flooded. Since we reserved this site it cost us $11 plus an $8 reservation fee.
Stepping carefully to avoid as much water as possible, we got set up and decided to drive into the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center. Since we had been at this visitor center earlier this summer, we just looked at a few things we hadn't had time to see.
Of interest particularly to us were the famous Alaskan characters - such as Nellie Frost, Polly Renner, Jack Morgan, Benny Benson, Alaska Nellie, Colonel James Girdwood, and Jujiro Wada.
We also found information about the Moose Pass Waterwheel, the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel and the Iditarod Trail.
We then watched the film, "Retreat & Renewal" at the visitor center before heading back to the trailer for lunch. After lunch, we decided to drive over to the town of Hope, Alaska.
At we come upon the Hope Highway turnoff at mile 56.3 on the Seward Highway, we take the 17-mile detour that lets us explore the history of one of Alaska's first gold-rush towns.
Hope is currently home to fewer than 200 residents, but it once housed 3,000 -- all drawn by gold fever. In 1889, a few years before the Klondike gold rush began to lure people north, a miner discovered nuggets in nearby Resurrection Creek. Soon prospectors found gold in many area streams -- including Bear, Sixmile, Canyon and Mills -- triggering the 1890s Turnagain Arm gold rush. According to local lore, this growing community of tents and cabins chose to name their town after the youngest rusher to step off the next boat -- seventeen-year-old Percy Hope.
Hope still exudes that vibe today -- a friendly village with narrow lanes heading past old log buildings with a pastoral, laid-back atmosphere. During the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, part of the town was lost to the rising water, which is now a tidal meadow with camping on the fringe. The 100-year-old Hope Social Hall still stands, a weathered log cabin that hosts community meetings, dances, and weddings.
And then we drove back to Girdwood.
We then decided to go check out Girdwood Brewing located on the Alyeska Highway in Girdwood.
It was a timber framed taproom adorned with local art and ski relics -- and has kind of a yuppy feel to it.
Not being too impressed with Girdwood Brewery, we decided to go on over to the Chair 5 Restaurant where we were planning to meet up with our friends from Texas -- Janis and Larry Carter and her sister and husband for dinner.
While we were waiting for them to arrive, Mel had a few craft beers. Below is a picture of Shirley Mendenhall, Larry and Janis Carter and Mel Mendenhall.
Above is a picture of our friends from Texas, Janis and Larry Carter. Below is a picture of Janis' sister, Janelle and her husband Dennis Rose.
Above is the calamari strips we had for an appetizer and below is the meat lover's pizza we ordered.
It was so good to see our Texas friends, Janis and Larry Carter and catch up with them. We left the restaurant around 9 p.m. and arrived back at the Williwaw Campground around 9:30 p.m.
And just before we turned into the Williwaw Campground, we were fortunate to see a black bear in the ditch.
We are beginning to see bears quite a bit -- here's hoping we continue to see more too!
Shirley & Mel
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