Homer to Fairbanks

A few more photos from the Homer area.

We found this Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik, a small town just north of Homer.  It sat on a cliff overlooking Prince William Sound.  We are not sure if the church was in existence when the Russians owned Alaska or if it was built afterward.  It is very small, but still has the onion domes.

We stopped in Whittier, mostly because I wanted to drive through the two mile, one lane, train/car tunnel.  We were guessing that Grandma and Grandpa must have driven through this tunnel also...assuming they docked in Whittier.   Our highlight for the day was a large iceberg that was floating in the water surrounding a nearby glacier.

We did not see all of Mt. McKinley.  It was so overcast that the very top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds.  Still, we were glad to see as much of it as we did.  We opted not to take the 8-hour bus ride after reading that it is not recommended for children or even young teens.  Seeing as Jacob and Anna are only interested in looking at wildlife after I have spotted it for them, I think the guidebook is probably right.  I did not want to pay a lot of money only to hear them asking..."are we there yet?"  We did stop in Talkeetna, which is used as a staging area to see Mt. McKinley.  It was packed with people waiting to take airplane and helicopter tours.  This seems to me to be a great way to see the mountain, but the cost is prohibitive.  We decided that a view from the highway would do just fine. 


We spent the night in a cabin in North Pole, AK, just south of Fairbanks.  It was horrible.  They had promised a two room cabin with 3 beds and what we got was one 10 X 10 room with a loft.  This alone would not have caused us problems if it had not been for the workmen staying in the other half of the cabin or the owner talking incessantly.  The owner neglected to tell us that the beautiful cabin pictured on the Internet was actually split in half and used for two families.  Now I'll know something else to ask when calling for rooms.  The only plus was that it was near a lake so Jacob got to try his hand at fishing again.  Alas... no fish.  We were so exhausted from lack of sleep that we decided to stay in Fairbanks another night...at a motel...to try to get well rested before heading back through the Yukon towards home.  As it turns out, we love Fairbanks.  The people are very nice, the food is great, and the sightseeing has been fun. 





We are betting that Grandma and Grandpa viewed the pipeline from the same spot. 

After viewing the pipeline, we went to the ice museum in the downtown section of Fairbanks.  We loved it.  Every March, Fairbanks hosts an ice festival and artists from around the world participate.  We met the winner from the 2007 festival at the museum.  I'm not sure there is a lot of money to be made from winning this festival since the winner was selling us our tickets, giving the tour, and demonstrating ice carving. 

It was only 20 degrees in the ice rooms, so we did not stay inside long.

Personally, I want to drive the 200 miles to the Arctic Circle...just to say that I have done it, but I have been out voted.  Maybe a future trip.  Next time, I would fly directly into Fairbanks...maybe in March to see the aurora borealis and the ice festival.  Since the Arctic Circle is not on our itinerary, we are leaving Alaska tomorrow, but still not sure about the route home.  We don't want to retrace our trip out, but I am a bit nervous about some of the other options since they have longer sections through the Yukon.  I don't like being without phone service and AT&T just doesn't seem to work in the Yukon...actually, I'm not sure any cell phone service works in the Yukon.  At least we will see more amazing scenery and lots of wildlife. 


Love you, Elizabeth