How To Get The Tablet Of The Gods

ALASKA - AUGUST 2010 - DAY 1 and 2

This year we chose the largest state, the wildest and most inhospitable USA: THE FINAL FRONTIER ALASKA ie, synonymous with the Gold Rush, glaciers tremendous, incredible wildlife and Native Americans related to the Inuit for some.

Sold by the Russians to the Americans in 1867, he was the 49th state entered the Union in 1959 only. It is the largest of all, 3 times as large as France for only 684,000 inhabitants!

This is not the trip "bag-to-back" as I usually likes. We're going to Alaska state poor road infrastructure and hospitality, we are in August and the living is more expensive than elsewhere. So no improvisation. Everything was expected (or almost) and reserved for France.

As usual, we arrive at CDG the night before to spend the night.

This Saturday the weekend of August 15, A340 from our full like an egg with a little delay. We are in France, the country strikes!

In Paris this morning, is barely 13 degrees. We arrived at half past one Seattle later - more than 9 hour time difference anyway! - Blistering heat: 90 ° F or 34 ° C. The sky is blue for a few days and throughout the coming week with forecast temperatures continue to rise.

Seattle, nicknamed the "Rainy City" has never carried his name so badly. In all cases, each of our parts, it is fine, but never too hot.

Landing and from the airport, Mt Rainier needed, majestic. Monstrous volcano by its tall and its top covered with snow, isolated from surrounding mountains, he never seemed to be so close. Today, I am really aware of the danger and the threat it poses to nearby large cities.

We call the shuttle from SEATAC INN motel not exactly luxurious bedding which is still impeccable, and the cheapest of the corner where we have our habits. Held by Indians (from India), it is easy to haggle the price of rooms.

We are changing to a "ballad" in town. Virginia is with us this year not known Seattle.

Since our last stay in the Northwest in 2008, the railway construction works at the airport now to connect to the city (just faster than the bus but with a frequency more interesting)

The train travels in the same tunnel center dedicated solely to transit and just like in the bus, it is enough to file his bike. It is a means of transport popular with locals here where the surrounding nature is calling you right out of the job.

The city is a desert this weekend of August, except for tourists, the streets are empty.

PIONEER SQUARE

We envisioned panorama of Puget Sound, the city and up Mt Rainier from the Columbia Tower, unfortunately, the building is closed due to inactivity during the weekend. Only near the Smith Tower, located less high and low can be mounted on the observation platform at the 34th floor. The price is 7.50 usd against 3 at the Columbia Tower and the view is not as interesting. You do not see the Needle qu'encastrée between two buildings.

In this case it is better to pay a little more and climb the Needle, but in this case it will not be on the photo!

We enjoy being in the neighborhood to greet the one who gave the name to the city, the Indian chief Sealth and discover the 4 totems of Western Park that we had not seen the last time.

OF FLYING SALMON PIKE MARKET

I read somewhere that the section of the fish market was an attraction in itself. However, during our previous visit we found the place very quiet. The stall was filled with bugs of all kinds, and is mainly crustaceans that had attracted my attention for a few photos.

None of huge wild salmon as those we see today.

This time, the animation is at its height: the sellers interpellate raging loudly and throw the fish face!

Household Masterbation Vegetable Oil

ALASKA - AUGUST 2010 - DAY 3 - ANCHORAGE- EAGLE RIVER: 40 Km

Like dinner last night, it will be breakfast at Denny's near the motel. Rich and not surprisingly, we will take up snack distributed in the Continental plane that takes us in Anchorage.

For information, the airline is paying 25 usd per piece from the first recorded book and takes no account, contrary to American Airlines, in any correspondence with an international flight, although they state otherwise on their site (they have not even checked the date of our flight ticket Air France) is racketeering ! Thus, to avoid paying you see the Americans on board with luggage monstrous.

The beginning of the afternoon, it was already sweltering heat.

Three and a half hours later, we come out the sweaters! The sky is gray and it rains a few drops.

LAKE HOOD BASE AIRPLANE

In a country where there are few roads to get from one point to another, it remains the aircraft and especially as we are a country of mountains, the safest is to ask the aircraft.

In front of the airport is a huge database. We follow the guidance of the GPS to take us and we soon realize that what he tells us as roads are in fact taxiway! We find ourselves very quickly with a Cessna 172 buttocks!

EAGLE RIVER

is a suburb of Anchorage. Tonight we will go no further than EAGLE RIVER MOTEL (wi-fi), very convenient, but very expensive although "budget." In Alaska, we realize very quickly that everything is much more expensive than elsewhere.

We take a CARRS SAFEWAY now to do some shopping for our supplies for the week, and a WAL-MART, just for fun.

Hydrogen Peroxide Herpes

ALASKA - AUGUST 2010 - DAY 4 - EAGLE RIVER-HEALY: 440 Km

GEORGE PARKS HIGHWAY

The road is long to go to Denali. Long and uninteresting to a large extent where the forest extends continuously from the outskirts of Anchorage without crossing any city worthy of the name. There are some well marked on my map but in reality we see every home for a petrol pump and two or three houses. Although this is a major route that connects Anchorage and Fairbanks to the Yukon in Canada leads neighbor, this is a simple two-lane road.

The time seems very long before they saw the first mountains in the chain of Denali.

DENALI NATIONAL PARK

Il abrite le Mt Mac Kinley (6194 m) le plus haut sommet d’Amérique du Nord nommé DENALI par les Amérindiens.

On ne peut pas y rouler avec son propre véhicule que sur une très courte portion de 24 Km. Nous n'avons pas assez de temps à y consacrer pour achever le parcours à l'aide des autocars du Parc (120 km supplémentaires, far back on a gravel road, dusty or muddy depending on weather) but on this small stretch of road, we'll make beautiful meetings:

Couple elk that seem to rush straight over .

Despite appearances, this is not a groundhog, but a ground squirrel curious to see us.

The weather is very uncertain and only rises to 17 hours, but in any case not enough to enable us to see the silhouette of McKinley.

We head to the DENALI PARK HOTEL HEALY, 18 km further north where the reception is other than a former railway wagon.

history, this former sleeping car in the absence of roads, was designed to transport troops from the U.S. Army during World War 2.

I realize very quickly that I did well to book in advance. Here the hotel infrastructure is fairly thin and everything is complete everywhere. Wi-Fi connection but slow if not nonexistent.

Meal at BLACK DIAMOND on Otto Lake Road, no stamp, expensive but delicious. Once is not custom.

Blonde Highlights Half Head Full Head

ALASKA - AUGUST 2010 - DAY 5 - HEALY-PALMER: 390 Km

A nod to my friend Bruno with this photo of the Harley Davidson dealership, local color, the Denali.
Back to Denali NP this morning to visit the breeding of Alaskan huskies and attend a demonstration with a park ranger.

The Log Cabin version niche.

You got beautiful eyes you know!

Lack of snow!

For us who have lived on the mountain and seen a lot of racing sled dogs in winter, it was not a discovery. He had to take a little of our time this morning before it rains again. I rather advise people or parents with curious children.

The temperature has dropped (10 °) and he started to rain on the way back south. We will not leave much left for the car to refuel a fuel that varies from 3.37 to 4.14 here usd (!) whether the place is more or less isolated from all (2.89 in Seattle)

Tonight we sleep PIONNEER at Motel PALMER, more affordable, but the partitions as paper and whose heater does not work any more than the fridge and tv. Only the wi-fi is acceptable. The motel is on sale, glad it has found yet opened when we got there late and quiet because reserved.

Dog Crate Replacement Door

ALASKA - AUGUST 2010 - DAY 6 - PALMER-INDIAN: 390

This morning is just 9 degrees but we see a few mountains that emerge from a scarf cloud. There are sometimes gaps of blue sky. With any luck this should stand in the day.

GLENN HIGHWAY

267 km of which will travel as we do the first 150 (the most interesting according to the guides) before 1 / 2 turn.

Matanuska Glacier: (91 Km Palmer)

A gravel road and a footbridge over a stream leads straight to a souvenir shop that sells the right to enter the site for 20 usd / person. A scam in which the guides do not mention! They at least have the honesty to announce before pay for the tickets that we will walk an hour before arriving at the foot of the glacier ... in 30 cm of mud! We therefore abstained.

Fortunately the view from the road is very beautiful and I think those on the bottom would be better seen.

EUREKA SUMMIT

is the culmination of the Glenn Highway that before it back down to Glennallen. At the top is rain ahead.

Back to Palmer.

Then Anchorage where we stop at the Visitor Center just for the pleasure of photographing the "log cabin" (see the installation logs) covered with grass and beautiful flowers.

We take this opportunity to hang out in the souvenir shops and watch the fur stores along the avenue. Here, where no one knows probably not the militancy of our Bridget, it still bears fur without any hindrance, since the mantle to more intimate, the ultimate: panties and bra.

In the evening, we begin the road to Seward starting along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet.

The sky cleared and it is even very hot (17 degrees!) For those of us in sweater and fleece jacket.

BIRD RIDGE MOTEL to Indiana. No wi-fi, no TV because of the proximity of the cliff and in the absence of a parabola, and a cell phone connection is very limited. But super decoration.

Restaurants: PEPE'S HOUSE Turnagain classy a little expensive. Grilled salmon on the menu excellent (very red salmon here was noticed) and specialty: crab to carapa soft ". I had explained, they fish for crab after molt just before his new carapa hardens.

Breathtaking view of Turnagain Arm from the room.