Alaska – Seward to Talkeetna

Another heavily cloudy day with no visibility beyond a couple 100 foot high ceiling. We drove the 20 miles back to Seward, stopping at Seavey’s Ididaride to see if we could tour the dog kennels and snuggle some puppies but the tour was 1 1/2 hours long and we didn’t have enough time before our wildlife tour of Resurrection Bay was to begin.

The backup plan was to go to the Alaska Sea Life Center so we headed over there. We only spent maybe 45 minutes, but it was fun to see the seals, sea lions, puffins, etc and all the undersea creatures.

We had rescheduled our tour for today from a few days ago. It was to be a shorter cruise than the six hour we had originally planned and was to only stay in Resurrection Bay looking for marine mammals, therefore the size of the seas would not play as much of a roll.

As we began the boarding process we donned our masks and were surprised no one else was, as federal guidelines for all public transportation was still in effect that masks must be worn. The person checking us in told us our assigned seat assignments and then told us every seat was sold out and so we would be sharing the table cubicle with others. Wait… what? Every seat sold out? Not a single mention of masks? And we could expect to be seated across a table from total strangers who are or aren’t vaccinated and/or are or aren’t wearing a mask? You have got to be kidding me!

Yesterday Billy got a call that someone he works closely with (who has been vaccinated since January) got Covid and it took him and his 20-something daughter down- hard, like real hard!

I know this is Alaska (aka the Last Frontier). I know and respect we Americans love our liberties ( we are them) but enough is enough. There we were sitting – the only people wearing masks- listening to the guy behind us hack and I mean hack, then suck his snot up, then blow his snot out along with what sounded like a section of his lung and this went on for five minutes. I actually went and spoke to the captain and she informed me that they would “remind” passengers before we set sail that they were supposed to mask up but they could not personally call anyone out if they chose not to.

Needless to say, we were pissed, and uncomfortable and we decided to cut our losses. A shame as we would have enjoyed the ride but not at the expense of our health nor the satisfaction of those who are selfish enough to disregard federal mandates and demonstrate they care about nobody but themselves (and yes… I just said it)!

So they literally had to unlock the aft door and drop the gangplank for us to disembark- and frankly- it was one of the best decisions we have ever made while traveling. That boat ride was going to be nothing short of a super spreader event and we had no interest in being part of it!

We walked out on the docks and decided it was time to regroup once again… and come up with a new game plan. The good news is that the three of us are used to changing plans, tossing around new ideas and being spontaneous. We change our plans a lot, and while some may see us as wishy washy, we see it as constantly improving our skills of being flexible and adaptable- traits that allow you to comfortably travel in uncertain places, in uncertain times and still have fun and feel safe. Rigidity doesn’t work for us: it only sets you up for disappointment.

Seeing as it was just about lunchtime, we decided on the BBQ joint that Billy had nixed day before yesterday. And my oh my… what a great decision. The owner was a real gem! The food was off the charts! And the IPA Billy had was tinged with Kodiak Island pine! The whole place was outdoors and just as we sat down, the sun popped out for a few minutes! Pure perfection!

Following lunch, we retraced 40 miles of highway we had already crossed three times previously, we stopped to check for bears at the creek with the salmon (no bears), we stopped for ice cream and wished we could see the mountain tops in all their magnificence…

We stopped north of Anchorage for coffee and poke bowls to go – restaurants have been completely understaffed and stretched thin this year or, they just haven’t been able to open, making dining out here, beyond difficult.

By the time we reached Talkeetna, our destination for the next two nights, we were beat. It rained almost the entire 240 miles, stopping just as we reached the Talkeetna junction (about 15 miles from our lodging). It is so strange knowing that a 20,000 foot mountain is standing right in front of us and we can’t see it!

Our cabin was cozy and we enjoyed talking to the owner and his summer helper who hailed from Montenegro (one of a very few lucky students that was able to enter the US on a J-1 visa this year). They were headed out in the bush, and we had a good discussion about the very large sidearm he carried (a 44 magnum with a 7” barrel) and how he considered it is as basically “insurance.” He said he carried it to protect himself against black bears, not grizzlies – which I found surprising (We have now crossed the geographic line that defines a brown bear from a grizzly bear), because, as he said, “black bears were so unpredictable.” When I asked him what he meant, he couldn’t really elaborate… but Jenny could. She explained, “Mom… look… a black bear is unpredictable because if they stumble upon you they are gonna take a minute or two to decide if they are gonna eat you. A grizzly? There’s no deciding. If they stumble upon you… they are definitely gonna eat you!” I laughed my ass off at her oh-so-simple deduction on this Alaskan’s thought process! And you know? I bet you she’s right!

But… as he said… the chances your “insurance” even helps you out when you have hundreds of pounds of angry muscle running 35 miles per hour at you, and you have to unholster, aim, and shoot with a single bullet? Forget about it- you don’t stand a chance. But hey… it is nice to say you have insurance!