Lunch in the Clouds

DATELINE: Alyeska Resort

When Adam and I were in Europe in 2013, a gondola ride on Germany was minutes away from happening.

We parked the Volvo. 

We entered the gondola terminal. 

We approached the ticket booth window. We were robbed. 

A thunderstorm halfway up The Zugspitze (9,718 ft above sea level), shattered our plans. 

The ticket salesman explained the electric storm could strike the gondola. 

(Instead, we got fitted for Liederhosen)

(Germany circa 2013)

On Friday, we made up for lost time. The Alyeska Resort one hour south of Anchorage (also know as A-Town), is a ski resort. 

In the summer, there's no snow on the slopes, but the restaurant atop the mountain is open and the gondola provides an excellent lift with a view. Finally! We conquer the gondola!

From the top, the Kenai Peninsula is visible in all directions. 

Lunch at the Bore Tide Deli allowed us to savor the view a little longer. Over lunch, we learned some folks opt to walk up the mountain. Others ride BMX bikes down to the bottom.

Lesson learned: be patient and save something for next time. The view and the ride are worth it.   

NEXT: Moose be crazy

Squeaky Clean

DATELINE: Anchorage, Alaska

Mr. Clean knows where to get his Jeep free of Alaskan dirt and grime. 

One problem: The automatic cleaner slaughtered Rainbow Bright all over the windshield. 

No car wash is complete until you drop the windows during the drying cycle, where the wind speed is that of a hurricane.  

NEXT: Lunch on a mountain top via Gondola! 

The Price of Fur

DATELINE: Talkeetna, Alaska

Hampton. Holiday. Hilton. Hyatt.

Those names don't grace the hotels or inns in Talkeetna. 

Rather, Trapper John has his name on the best place to sleep.

Located down a gravel road from Talkeetna's main strip, awaits Trapper John's Cabin. 

Here rests a primitive cabin and outhouse.  Perfect for getting off the grid. 

After taking one look at Trapper John's, my mind raced back 22 summers to where I was in 1994. 

"Captain Scott" passed "Backsaw Ben's" cabin, along with "Buck Skinner's" cabin while driving Paddlewheel Excursions boats at Cedar Point. 

(Backsaw Ben & Jumping Jack circa 2009)

(Buck Skinner and family circa 2009)

After 45 laps around the island a day in 1994 & 1997, you start having conversations with yourself while piloting

the boat. 

"What does the *inside* of their home look like?"

"Do they sit at a dining room table to eat?"

"How often do they change their sheets on their bed?"

Now I know. 

The sleeping arrangement:

The decor:

The kitchen:

There was power. 

And a recent addition added indoor plumbing with a real bathroom. 

At night, we built a fire and made s'mores. 

And Sarah told ghost stories, followed by Scott's inappropriate ghost stories. 

Just like rounding the lagoon over and over and over and over, a stay at Trapper John's will not be forgotten. 

NEXT: Man vs. Food for breakfast.

 

Through the Tunnel

DATELINE: Whittier, Alaska

A week before Scott Traveled from Florida, Adam sent a link to a CNN story via text. 

"Want to go to Whittier, Alaska?" Adam asked. 

Scott watched the story below over dinner in Orlando. 

"Um, it looks like one of the most depressing places on earth," Scott thought sitting at his kitchen table in Florida.  

Whittier, Alaska is a city that is housed inside one high rise condo building. Isolated on Prince William Sound, the city government office, grocery store, library and apartment buildings are all located in the same building. 

Today, you can access the town by driving through North America's longest tunnel for cars... and trains.  

The A-Frame entrance to the tunnel leads to an 11-mile long passage built for cars and trains both. A tight schedule allows cars to travel in one direction each hour, along with a train. 

Both cars and the train use the same road, with the train tracks embedded in the road. 

We drove around the iconic housing building, a Soviet-style military building long abandoned and took in Prince William Sound with an ice cream cone. 

NEXT: Camping with Bears

Moose Be Crazy

DATELINE: Portage Glacier

It's not a zoo. 

It's not a drive thru. 

It's better. 

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center features creatures needing a little extra tender, loving care. 

The non-profit strives to preserve Alaska's wildlife through conservation and education. 

Folks walk on foot. Or slowly drive there car. There's also a shuttle bus. We opted for two of the three. 

The moose were a favorite. They crept close to the fence, where we could see right into their eyes... and urethras. 

When these boys whizz, they unleash guysier.  One of the Moose, turned around and drank his own urine, but to the horror of crowd and glee of Scott. 

"Why would he do THAT?" one lady gasped. 

"Because he is about to spit at us!" Scott yelled. 

Immediately, the viewing area was cleared, and Scott laughed again. 

Adam's favorite animal was the brown bear.  AWCC has three brown bears and we arrived just in time to see them eat.

"It was ripping apart a King Salmon for dinner time," Adam said. 

The fish were no match to the bear's might. 

"If you don't watch out, they will kill you," Adam warns, as we stood on an overhead walkway, high above the bear habitat. 

"It's feet were the size of Tombstone pizzas," Adam recalled later. 

And where we are camping in a few hours, is full of bears. Wish us luck. 

NEXT: Whittier, Alaska 

Wet and Wild

DATELINE: Seward Highway, Alaska

The scenery outside downtown Anchorage is stunning. 

Green mountains. 

Blue lakes. 

On the way to lunch in the clouds we made a stop to bottle water on the side of the road. 

You've undoubtedly had a bottle of "Spring Water?"  Ever wonder where is comes from?

Try this white pipe along the Seward Highway.  Just run fast. 

"You got to play Frogger, to get your water," Adam shouts as we run across the busy highway.  The reference to the Atari game is classic, since we are effectively dodging cars. 

The mountains above have freezing cold runoff from snow melts. 

This pipe provides spring water to those looking to bottle it for free. 

There are stickers left behind by past visitors. 

And opportunities to get wet. 

NEXT: Lunch upon a mountain. 

Bodacious Breakfast

DATELINE: Talkeetna, Alaska

Ever eat a pancake twice the size of your hand?

How about Reindeer sausage?  Sorry Donner and Blitzen. 

At the Talkeetna Roadhouse, Adam from Man vs. Food devoured the pancakes the size of Santa's beard.

Meantime, the lovely Alicia models the pancakes as a beard to show their size. 

Look close at the mantle in the Roadhouse family room. 

There it is! KTUU's snow globe from a past stay by Adam (not the Travel Channel guy, but our star).

Breakfast in Talkeenta doesn't happen anywhere else but at the Roadhouse. 

NEXT: Squeaky Clean