Vacation? What vacation? Mine was a working vacation crammed into the middle of 2 intense 6 week lab science classes. That being said it was awesome.
My prius & I drove from Valdez to Tacoma where I put all my worldly belongings on a uhaul. The car was put on a trailer & towed behind the uhaul. The trip down was fast, but great. My little car got 50+ mph even on the roughest parts of the road. I saw lots of wildlife. My original intent was to fly & drive a uhaul back. That plan chanced when the friend who was to help had a massive heart attach & cardiac arrest 3 days before I was to leave. All her keys were lost by the EMTs, but her life was saved. She was still in a coma when I left. Having no Credit card (by choice) I was unable to rent a car, so I drove. Planning to camp on the way down, chanced to sleeping in my car after I saw 3 brown bears near where I planned to stop in the middle of nowhere. Being small means I can sleep in my car! As it was comfy, easy to set up & cost nothing, I did this all the way down. I love to drive long distances, see all the plants & animals, the different geology of each area. The Alaska highway is a great place for all that. Very meditative. I've become quite good at taking pics from a moving car or pulling over suddenly onto the side of the road. Scientists are trained to be observant & I am very good at observing nature! Best of all it had very few people. I'm not really a people person, or at best like my people in small numbers.
Once I got to Tacoma, I camped in a state campground in Gig Harbor, near where my storage unit was. I had planned on doing a lot of sorting in the week I'd be there, but driving took half that time & I spent most of the rest of the time visiting my friend. Another friend came up from Oregon to help me drive back up. That trip was much longer & took waaaaaaaaay more fuel, but we had a great time. I am grateful for the extra person to help drive & keep me company. My friend & I go back 20 years and haven't been able to spend much time together for several years, so that was really great! I went back to teaching two days after we got back and just finished last week.
I now have all my stuff (and then some) & its like Christmas. I've been sorting as I've had time & am planning a BIG garage sale later this month. You are all invited! A great excuse to come to Valdez, eh?
I've been out on PWS twice since returning & am always just totally awed by the majesty & beauty of it all. I'm finally getting my fishing license tomorrow & planning to get my own salmon here real quick.
Summer is slow & wet this year in Valdez, but the berries are starting to come on: salmon berries, blueberries (high & bog), crow berries, cloud berries, nagoonberries, currants & more. Oh YUM. The bears have been very bad in Valdez this year. They've relocated a couple browns & have had to put several black bears down as people aren't using proper precautions and they are coming into town. I put a bear bell on my dog when I go for a walk & if he becomes uncomfortable we turn around. I'd like my encounters with bears to be from a distance.
I'd love to hear how others spent the summer!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment