Blogs from Copper Center, Alaska, United States, North America

As we’ve been traveling in Alaska, we’ve learned that this place is full of natural wonders. I could post fifty pictures and you’d all be going “Yeah, yeah …” by the end, but that’s because we drive or float or fly and see the most beautiful views, and then turn and see a view that’s even better. This is a place of fire (volcanoes), ice (glaciers), rock (the mountains) and water (the beautiful rivers. You could travel for a lifetime and not see more than a fraction of the land’s desolate beauty. We went fishing for king salmon on the Klutina River last week, driving almost three hours on a rutted dirt road to a cloudy aqua-colored river. It’s a deceptively simple whitewater trip with waves and holes that would be class 2-3 in the southeast ... read more

Do you remember that very old joke that puts the word “henway” into a sentence and then lets the victim ask, “What’s a henway?” The answer: a hen weighs about two and a half pounds. Sorry … Please go to your atlas again and look at southeastern Alaska. This area, including the panhandle, is made up of as much water as land. (Did you know that you can’t drive to Juneau, the state capital?) Everything from groceries (once a week barge from Seattle) to people move on the on the water. If your atlas shows you the roads, you’ll see that most of Alaska’s roads are in the southeastern quarter, but the towns on the coast are relatively isolated, due to the long fjords that pierce the mainland. We traveled from Skagway to Haines by ferry, ... read more

We started out with a quick stop in North Pole, Alaska. A cute little town where they celebrate Christmas all year ‘round. Even the local Laundromat had a Christmas theme. We of course had to stop at Santa’s house for a visit. We took our time looking around and picking up souvenirs. We pushed down the road a bit further before stopping for lunch. We were so glad we did. We found a lake called Birch Lake with a mirror reflection surface and a parking area. We had it all to ourselves. I’d like to note here how thoughtful Alaska is. Everywhere I turn there is an out-house. It is fantastic. Sure I made use of Mother Nature but the out houses were available on the Dalton Highway, Richardson Highway and the Glenn Highway. The only ... read more