Mendenhall Glacier in the Winter

Probably the most popular attraction in Juneau is the Mendenhall Glacier.  A friend of mine who came with me on the ferry is visiting for the week so I took her and Millie to visit the glacier.  Our plan was to hike one of the trails, but since the lake was iced over, we decided to walk to it before going on a trail.  Unfortunately, I completely underestimated the distance across the lake so what I thought was going to be a one hour round-trip ended up being like a 3 hour ordeal.  My friend didn't complain but I think she might have been cursing me inside.  It was a bit tough trudging through the snow without much of a trail.  Needless to say, we didn't bother with any of the actual trails. 

Maybe because it's midweek & winter, there weren't too many people there.  We saw couple other people returning as we headed out, and that was about it.  Most people remained close to the visitors center.  Since there was no one around nearby, I was able to let Millie off-leash and run around.  She got a really good exercise that day hopping through the powder. 

Once I got near the glacier, I could see a small waterfall coming down the glacier.  The surface also looked cracked where past footprints ended.  Unfortunately that meant that the water near the glacier might perhaps not be so solid, so we didn't get right up to the face of the glacier.  We got a pretty good view of it though from where we did get to. 

The visitors center had a lot of good information on the glacier and the surrounding mountains.  Forgot to get a trail map though.  I suspect I'll be hitting a lot of the trails in that area once all the snow melts.

First Impressions of Juneau

Echo Cove

I was already awed by the views coming into Juneau.  Once in town and driving around, I saw that it was beautiful everywhere.  I realize that it's a place where it normally rains a lot, but I am glad for the sunny spell we had this week as now I know how beautiful the city can get.  Everywhere you go there is a view of the mountains and/or water.  The recent snowfalls probably also made the city even more beautiful than usual.  I can't wait until the warmer season so I can get out and explore the hiking trails around the city.

In addition to being beautiful, the city has enough of the basics to get me by:  Costco, Wal-mart, McDonald's, Subway, and Home Depot.  I also discovered a store called Fred Meyer.  It's like a Super Wal-mart or Target but even better.  Prices aren't all that bad either - probably comparable to back home.  Gas is about $3.50/gal - about the same as in Seattle.

So far everyone I have met here are friendly and don't really have any complaints about anything.  Finding a dog friendly rental has been a bit tough, but I think I may have a place.  In any case, so far so good.  I'm enjoying Juneau.

Alaska Ferry from Bellingham to Juneau

View from ferry

The final leg of the road to Juneau was on the Alaska Marine Highway System.  Since there are no roads leading in or out of Juneau, my options were to fly or ferry.  Since I had my puppy & car to transport, I decided on the ferry option. The 3 night, 2 day ferry ride took us from Bellingham, WA to Juneau.  Although I should have been excited about the ferry ride, I was actually very worried for Millie.  Pets have to stay in the vehicle except during pet calls and while in port.  That is a long time to be cramped up in a crate in the car all by herself.  (I cannot leave her out of the crate since she would tear my car apart.)  I looked into various alternatives but didn't find them to be much better.  Well, it turned out I worried for nothing.  A guy (called Matt) next to me on the car loading dock also had a puppy (a very cute Golden Retriever) and he offered to let Millie stay in the cab of his truck with his puppy.  Now she had more room and a companion for the trip.  I was so relieved for her and enjoyed the trip more knowing she was not suffering. 

Millie getting a kiss from Charlie

The ferry was an old one, but it had enough amenities to keep us entertained.  There's an observation deck, cocktail lounge, movie theatre, gift shop, and a cafeteria.  I think there's also a playroom for kids.  I booked a cabin with full facilities, which made the ride comfortable also.  The clear skies we had the whole trip gave us fantastic views for when we just wanted to chill in the observation deck or go out for some fresh air.  As far as wildlife goes, I only saw dolphins, but apparently there was a whale at one point that I missed.

The trip was fairly relaxing overall, except during the 15 minute pet calls when frantic owners hurried to get their pet to eat, potty, & walk.  Pets did their business right on the car deck so we had to clean up after them, which wasn't so easy.  Cars were also packed tight so it was hard to navigate around them and other dogs.  Millie did ok, since she went potty at every pet call, which was at 0830, 1430, 2030, & 0030.  Other dogs seemed to have a hard time and their owners worried, so I guess I'm lucky.

Creek Street in Ketchikan, AK

On the second day of our trip we actually had a seven hour port call in Ketchikan, AK.  We took a taxi into town with Millie and had a walk around.  There wasn't much going on since it's the off season, but I really enjoyed a walk down Creek Street.  Supposedly during season, you can see tons of salmon in the creek along the shops there.  I may have to go check it out at some point. 

We arrived into Juneau on the 3rd morning.  Since all of Southeast Alaska got dumped with snow over the last couple nights, it was a gorgeous view coming in. 

View coming into Juneau

Seattle

I had couple of days in Seattle, but my main objective here were to see a few friends.  I had a great time catching up with friends I haven't seen in years.  I also spent about 6 hours trying to catch the sights in downtown Seattle.  Although I thought I hated cities, I actually liked Seattle.  It's a different feel from DC, and also from NYC.  Not sure how to describe it, but I could see myself living there.  Maybe someday I will try a West Coast city.  Who knows. 

My 6 hour whirlwind tour of Seattle started with a monorail ride from the Space Needle and a short walk to the Central Library.  It was a very nice library.  Then over to Pioneer Square for the highly recommended Underground Tour.  For those who did not know, the city of Seattle was once an underground city.  This tour gives you the history of the place and how it came to be underground.  It's a pretty neat tour.  Afterwards, my friend & I headed over to Pike Place Market.  It's an indoor market with lots & lots of shops, but neither of us needed to buy anything so we left after getting suckered into buying smoked salmon.  We headed back towards the car via a sculpture garden, and then headed over in our car to see the troll before heading over to Bellevue for the night.

Road to Alaska: Liberty Lake to Seattle

A rainy snowy 5 hr drive from Liberty Lake to Seattle, but the snow didn't stick so it wasn't a bad drive.  The first stop once back in civilization was to a PetSmart to pick up nylabones for Millie.  Then I took Millie to an off-leash dog park at Luther Burban Park on Mercer Island.  It was along a lake so Millie had fun jumping around in the water.  Not sure if she's learned to swim yet though....  After the fun she was a soaking wet mess so she went back to PetSmart for a bath and nail trimming.  We were staying the night with a friend so I wanted to get her cleaned up before showing up there.  Before heading in for the night to my friend's though, I got to meet up with couple other friends for dinner.  So all in all it was a very productive and fun day!

Road to Alaska: West Yellowstone to Liberty Lake

Now that I've had my vacation, I'm back on the road again.  Millie is also back with me so I am happy about that, too!  Today's drive from West Yellowstone, MT to Liberty Lake, WA was probably the most scenic drive yet.  I drove over several mountain passes with beautiful views.  The nice weather also helped.  With sunny skies, temperatures in the 40's, and evergreens dotting the mountains, it almost felt like summer.  Then I noticed the snowcapped peaks in the distance and it reminded me that I'm actually pretty lucky to have made it this far safely.  I barely missed the storm of the century when I first started the trip, and I did go through some dodgy weather along the way.  If I had hit some of that weather over these mountain passes, I could've been in big trouble.  I have one more long drive day to go tomorrow... and the weather isn't supposed to be all that great.  Hope my luck doesn't run out.

Yellowstone in the Winter

After 6 days of driving I had a week in West Yellowstone to relax and use as a base for exploring the park.  Most people probably wouldn't think to visit in the winter, but I thought it would be a beautiful time to visit.  The town of West Yellowstone is fairly dead this time of year though, and most places were closed for the season.  The people that are here seems to be on the elderly side, which I found surprising given the harshness of the temperatures here.  On many mornings I stepped outside to temperatures below zero Fahrenheit.  I think on the coldest night, temperature dropped to -20F.  Speaking to one of the locals, the coldest temperatures he experienced here was -65F.  Crazy.

Fortunately, when you dress properly and the sun is out, it is not so bad being outdoors even when it's cold out.  If you are active, you can stay even warmer.  Here are some of the things you can do in the winter from West Yellowstone:

Cross-Country Skiing

View from Riverside Upper Loop Trail

There are three trail areas accessible from W. Yellowstone: Rendezvous, Riverside, and Boundary.  Rendezvous has the most # of trails, and boundary allows pets.  Since I was new to x-country skiing and didn't have Millie with me, I chose for the Riverside trail, which was probably also the most scenic. 

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

While there are abundant wildlife viewing opportunities in Yellowstone NP, most wild bears are hibernating in winter, and wolves are very elusive.  So I cheated and went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in town.  It's a great place to not only view these animals, but also to learn about them.

Eat the Best Pizza Ever

I'm no pizza connoisseur, but I had the best pizza ever here from the Wild West Pizzeria and Saloon. 

Snowcoach Tour to Old Faithful

Old Faithful

In the winter, Yellowstone NP closes the roads to wheeled vehicles.  The only way to get in and out of the park is on a guided tour, either in a snowcoach or a snowmobile.  I opted for the snowcoach, which was probably warmer.  The highlights of the tour are wildlife viewing - we saw many elks and bisons, as well as couple of coyotes, swans, and an eagle.  Yellowstone is also famous for its geothermal features.  Apparently it is sitting on the world's largest active volcano crater.  I took the option that allows you to ski past many of these geothermal features - hot springs, mud pools, and geysers.  Luckily, I arrived at the Old Faithful just few minutes before it did it's thing. 

Bisons creating a traffic jam

IMAX Films

Most of the popular National Parks seems to always have an IMAX movie on it (at least Niagara Falls did).  Yellowstone also had one, which was just as cheesy as the Niagara one.  Lucky for me the other two films, one on Amazing Caves, and one on Everest, were more interesting.  It's a good way to relax on a cold afternoon.

Snowmobiling

This was probably one of those must-do's that I skipped out on.  I could've taken a snowmobiling tour into the park, but I thought I would be more comfortable in the snowcoach.  I could've also taken a self-guided tour through the Gallatin National Forest, but I decided I needed couple of days to just chill out and do nothing.  I was feeling pretty exhausted on my "free" days.  I may regret this though, since this area is supposed to have some of the best snowmobiling terrain around.  Everyone is doing it... but me.

Snowcoach Tour to the Canyons

View of a waterfall while on the Yellowstone NP Canyon tour

If you want to get away from the crowds in the park, a tour of the Canyons will do the trick.  The focus of this tour are waterfalls and wildlife, with some viewing of geothermal features.

For both snowcoach tours, I went with the Alpen Guides.  I thought both tours and guides were great, so I highly recommend them.  Also, they have a limit of 10 on their tours, allowing for a more intimate experience.

Dog Sled Ride

The area isn't exactly known for dog sledding, but there are couple of places where you can experience it.  The place closest to West Yellowstone was Klondike Dreams.  It's not a big commericial outfitter, but rather, the operator is a one-woman show.  Charlotte owns, races, and takes care of her dogs purely out of hobby.  Her business giving rides to tourists merely help pay for the dog food.  She works a normal job during the peak summer season, and spends her winter pretty much playing with her dogs.  She also told me about how she lived in a teepee for 9 years.  Now she lives in a shack with electricity (but no water).  She seems pretty happy with her life though.  Her occasional assistant, Noah, also has a unique lifestyle of working until saving up enough to take off on a backpacking trip through the wilderness.

The dog sled ride itself was pretty fun.  The dogs also seem to enjoy the exercise.  The ones who weren't chosen to run today seemed disappointed and I felt sorry for them.  They'll get their run another time though.  Charlotte also let me drive the sled, which was also fun.  I did take a spill on one turn though.  Since Alaska seems to be big into dog sledding (the Iditarod races are coming up soon) I may have to try it again there.

Road to Alaska: Livingston to West Yellowstone

Today was a short drive, about 2.5 hours, to my final destination for the week in West Yellowstone, MT.  There were moments where I had to drive through a snow storm when I was at higher elevation, and again I pondered how I would survive if I got stuck on this 74 mile stretch of road.  The road to West Yellowstone has a lot more traffic though than some of the other roads I took, so that made me feel better.

The hardest part of the day, though, was leaving Millie at the Doggy Day Care & Motel, which is about an hour and half North of where I am staying.  Initially I planned to have Millie stay with me in West Yellowstone, but since the park didn't allow pets, and I could not leave her in the hotel alone for prolonged periods of time, there would not have been much for either of us to do if she was here.  So I found this doggy care place that seemed pretty good.  I worried about her so much when I first left her there, but I got an update from the care taker on her activities for the day and felt much better.  Still, I miss her very much.

I've also been missing my husband very much since leaving on the trip, and especially so today.  Sometimes I wish I didn't have this crazy need to do crazy things that he can't always join me on.  Unfortunately I am who I am... a person who can't sit still.  It's just a shame I can't have it both ways where the person I care about is able to enjoy these experiences with me. 

Anyways, so I am feeling a bit lonely today, but I've got my hopes up for a good week ahead.  Few days of skiing, couple of snowcoach tours, etc.  There should also be plenty of time for some much needed relaxation with a good book or a movie.

Road to Alaska: Sturgis to Livingston via Road of Death

Hwy 212, while I considered the road conditions to be still pretty good.

When I woke in Sturgis this morning (again at 0430 thanks to Millie) the weather was pretty awful.  Winds were still gusting at 40+ mph and it was snowing.  My original plan was to visit Devil's Tower National Monument on my way to Livingston, but after checking road conditions and weather forecast I cancelled that plan.  I took the most direct route there as indicated by Mapquest and my GPS.  According to Montana DoT website, the road conditions on that route was supposed to be relatively good.  How wrong they were.

Going out of Sturgis, I was on I-90 for a bit.  There was lots of slush and poor visibility.  Once off of I-90 and onto this "direct" route of US Hwy 212, conditions looked much better.  I thought I would be good to go.  There was no snow and the roads were dry... for about 40 miles.  All of a sudden there's snow being blown everywhere creating very poor visibility.  There was now snow on the ground.  I had to slow down quite a bit. 

I hadn't passed anyone or been passed by anyone since I got on this road.  I saw maybe 5 trucks go by in the other direction.  There was not a single place to stop at so far and I feared there would be none for the next 40 miles either since that was when my next "turn" was.  I assumed there would be something at this "turn".  Until I get there though, it was us and the crappy road conditions in middle of BFE.  I thought I was going to die out here.  If I spun off the road or my car broke down, no one may come by for hours.  I didn't even know if I had cell reception where I was.  It was scary.

About 10 miles later, I came behind a congo line of tractor trailers.  They were going about 20 mph.  Turns out roads were now a bit icy so it was probably a good idea to slow down more.  It was going to be a very loooong 30 miles at this rate.  About 10 miles later though, visibility improved, and roads weren't as icy.  I was able to bravely pass the congo line, although I wasn't really sure I wanted to take lead.  Finally, I reached the point where the "turn" was and there was a rest area.  Thank goodness cuz I really needed to go.

At the rest area there was a minvan carrying 3 Koreans, one with an H-Mart logo jacket.  They were busy emptying their van of their goods, including an unboxed rice cooker.  I was very curious as to what they were doing but I didn't ask.  I'm still wondering though....

Once out of the rest area, there was still more of the US Hwy 212 to go.  At some point the roads were fully covered in packed snow and I started approaching an uphill with a sign indicating a place to pull over to put on chains.  F***.  I didn't have chains.  I didn't even have winter tires.  What I did have going for me though were brand new all-season tires.  So I kept on.  There were 3 big trucks pulled to the side as I climbed up the hill.  I had no idea what they were doing since they weren't in the designated pull-over area.  I kept going anyways and it turns out I got up and over the hill just fine. 

About 5 hours into the drive I see my first proper gas station and fast food chain restaurant.  I was so glad to be back in civilization.  I got back on an interstate and then swore up and down that I am never again doing another road trip through the midwest in the middle of winter.

The rest of the drive to Livingston was pretty smooth sailing compared to the rest of the day.  Once in Yellowstone County, the scenery changed dramatically for the better.  I can see mountains and rivers.  There were also no snow or high winds.  Walking Millie at the rest areas and around the hotel once again became a pleasurable experience.

Road to Alaska: Mitchell to Sturgis via Mt Rushmore

Today was supposed to be a good day but it turned out kinda sucky :(  I didn't sleep too well last night, probably because of the stupid Mountain Dew.  I ended up getting up just after 5 and decided to hit the road early.  Not sure how good of idea that was.  I was on the road by 0630 in the pitch dark with gravel like material flying all over the place.  I was going roughly 75 mph, until I realized there was a salt (?) truck ahead.  I thought it was just laying down salt for upcoming snow.  Well, once I passed it I realized it was because the roads were icy as hell.  I was going slow by that point but I could feel my car swerving a bit.  I slowed even further, passing couple of cars going probably about 20.  Once I got to a point where there was more salt, I sped up to 30-40ish.  I kept this pace for over 40 miles, maybe even longer, because I had no idea when the salt might suddenly end.  So I drove slow, being very alert... or trying to be.  I was actually pretty tired.  I had 1/2 bottle of Mountain Dew and a bottle of energy drink but that didn't help.  There were hardly any places to stop along the way either.  Rest areas were spread far and apart, with very little in between. 

At some point the roads no longer seemed icy but it began raining.  That sucked too.  Nothing like wanting to go 75 mph but not because you worry you could go slipping off the road.  Eventually it cleared up, showing the rolling hills of Badlands, which was a nice change of scenery from the flat plains I've been staring at the last couple of days.  I hoped that the sunny skies will hold until I got to Mount Rushmore.

Once at Mount Rushmore I saw that the clouds had come back.  Snow had started falling by the time I finished giving Millie a potty break.  I ran up for a quick view and a snap (see above).  The trails were closed due to icy conditions, and I skipped the museum because I worried about leaving Millie in the car too long.  I'd been looking forward to seeing Mount Rushmore and this turned out to be such an anti-climactic visit.  Perhaps if the skies were blue, the trails were open, and I wasn't rushed, it would have been a nicer visit.

From Mount Rushmore I only had another hour's drive to my hotel in Sturgis.  Sturgis seems to be most well known for its motorcycle rallies.  For me, it was just a place to rest.  What I did want to do here though was take Millie for a nice long walk.  Bear Butte State Park was near by and I had planned to do the 2.5 mile Lake Loop.  Unfortunately, winds were now gusting 40+ mph and it was miserable outside.  I did let Millie out off leash for a bit so she can run around, but not long enough.  She's not been getting enough exercise lately, so today she has been acting up really bad, which hasn't made the day any better. 

Bear Butte State Park

Road to Alaska: Springfield to Mitchell

Mountain Dew is my friend.  I dreaded the 10 hour drive today but a bottle and a half of Mountain Dew made this drive the easiest so far.  I don't drink coffee or tea, so I always struggled with getting caffeine.  I don't particularly want to drink soda first thing in the morning, but after yesterday I realized I need it.  I did stock up on energy drinks, but they didn't help me stay awake.  From here on out, it's Mountain Dew all the way. 

Today I got an early start at 0430 thanks to Millie waking me up. I saw the sunrise from my rear view mirror while driving (& thermometer said it was minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit outside). It's actually a good thing because the early start got me to my hotel just after sundown.  I didn't really want to drive after dark too much since there's long stretches of nothing where I was driving.  Thanks to the Mountain Dew, I didn't feel the need to stop much for a rest.  However, I ended up stopping a lot anyways because the Mountain Dew made me pee a lot.  Luck would have it though that there was only ONE rest area the first 5.5 hours of my drive.  On top of that, there were very few towns with shops or gas stations to stop in.  I'd come across a sign for a town thinking, "Cool, I can stop."  Only to approach the exit and see nothing but an unmarked building off to the left or right.  So I curse and keep on....

The drive from Illinois to South Dakota was uneventful.  Traffic was sparse, road conditions were good, and the scenery never changed.  If I was lucky I would find the occasional 80's or other songs I know on the radio and sing along.  Rest of the time I'm flipping through the radio station looking for the one in ten channels that's not playing country music.  The highlight of my day was finding a car wash.  My car was filthy and it was bothering me.  I feel clean now. 

Millie is a very good puppy lately.  She seemed to have gotten used to the ride.  She only whines when she needs to go potty, or when she sees me eating because she wants some too.  She had a lot of pent up energy upon checking into the hotel though, and spent about an hour or so jumping around on the beds and playing.

Tonight I am in Mitchell, SD, home of the "World's Only" Corn Palace.  I know this because I saw a sign every 5 minutes while approaching my destination.  No, I am not going to check it out.  I have better things to do.

I have a busy day planned for tomorrow.  After about 5 hours drive, I should be hitting Mt. Rushmore.  If I have time I'd like to take Millie to Bear Butt State Park for a walk.  Then a night in Sturgis.  I want to get up early tomorrow but I'm pretty wide awake now (darn Mountain Dew).  I hope I can get to sleep soon.

Road to Alaska: Columbus to Springfield

Ice at rest area

Today was a 6 hour drive (plus stops) to my dad's in Springfield, IL.  It was supposed to be an easy drive today but I was sleepy the whole way.  I suck at long distance driving. I think I stopped at every rest stop along the way.  I'll have to make sure I caffeine up for the 10 hour drive tomorrow.

Road conditions today was actually pretty good.  Aside from the sun and snow blinding me, it was good driving conditions.  There was a short stretch of highway that had some snow cover, but mostly it was clear.  The side roads and such weren't so clear, but it wasn't too much worse than what we had back in Virginia last week.

I'm at dad's now waiting for dinner.  I skipped lunch (couldn't be bothered to stop in town to get food) so I am starving.  Chili mac for dinner.  And trying not to get hooked on NCIS marathon.  Gotta get up early tomorrow for the drive.

Road to Alaska: Reston to Columbus

Today was the first of a 20 day odyssey to Juneau.  It was a ~6.5 hour drive (8 with stops) to Columbus, OH from Reston, VA.  It was a relatively painless drive, although I caught a cold so my nose was stuffy and I felt sleepy in the morning.  McDonald's and a coke at lunch helped for the afternoon. 

There was little traffic and road conditions were pretty good all the way.  However, there was fog, rain, snow, and 45mph winds.  Millie's walks at the rest stops were very short since it was pretty miserable being outdoors.  She has some new toys though, courtesy of her daddy, so she is enjoying them right now in the warm, cozy hotel room. 

Tonight will be a relaxing night.  Perhaps a movie on my new HP Pavillion with 17.3" monitor.  Tomorrow I head into Illinois, which was pummelled by the blizzard yesterday.  I am going to stop at my dad's for the night.  According to him, the skies were clear today and the plows were out.  Hopefully there will be no trouble getting to his place.

D-1

Today is my last day at work and I am driving off first thing in the morning tomorrow.  Just my luck the worst winter storm in at least a decade is going right through my path....  I hope it'll be passable by the time I get there.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!