Alaskan Grandparenting 101 & Minde's Great Adventure 2016: August 4

Welcome

Rambler’s Blog – Alaskan Grandparenting 101 & Minde's Great Adventure July 8 - August 31, 2016

A word about this blog…. It has been our goal in recent years’ lengthier travels to record for posterity a diary of travel stats, pictures, and personal reflections. So, when we can no longer indulge in trains, planes and automobiles we may relive fond memories. We have invited a few friends and family to ride along through this travel blog (a combo of blather and log), risking exposure to bad puns, spelling errors and sore feet complaints.

This is our first trip to Alaska as Grandparents. We sure hope we do it right! There are majestic mountains and valleys, mighty glaciers and roaring rivers but they pale in comparison with the power of baby Dean. He has filled our hearts to bursting with love and makes us speak gibberish. He is very patient with us and we're sure he thinks we're 'special' already.

Another first born, niece Minde from Buffalo, is joining us during our stay. She is celebrating high school graduation and taking a break before starting at Erie Community College in the fall. We have assured her parents, Wende and Pete, that we will take good care of her. She is already refusing to carry the bacon on hikes. Way smarter than us!

We will blog off and on. You are welcome to join us as you will. Glad to know you're out there!
Grandma and Grandpa Simons

* We may not have daily access to Internet so updates may be delayed, but once they appear they will be in sequence
* The blog includes pictures based on the day’s blog, sometimes delayed depending on schedule and access.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

August 4

Awoke in the Bear Paws II campground on the harbor in thick gray fog and rain. The temperature is low 60’s. We all take long hot showers in the shower house next door. After breakfast we set off walking the town. We stop at 3 different museums, two on Valdez history including gold mining and the 1964 earthquake and the collection of crude oil at the pipeline terminal across the harbor. We also stop at the Prince William Sound Community College and speak with one of the students about the class offerings and programs there. Then we visit the private collection museum that is part of their tiny campus. The Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum is a private collection from their early travels and business dealings around the state. The taxidermy animals are some of the best we have seen and the various native crafts done in all kinds of natural materials are extensive and beautifully done. We visit a couple gift shops and the new Valdez Visitors Center. The Center is nice but we know most of what we need already. The rain has periods of drizzle and harder rain. We walk back to the RV and eat lunch. Then we set off again for a hike around the salt marsh estuary. It is the only one in all of Prince William Sound. We see ducks and a couple salmon near the surface. We walk over to the large fish processing plant. There are workers from all over the world, many languages being spoken, who have come to work the high fish season. We find the Peter Pan sales shop where we can buy fresh and flash frozen fish, crabs and clams. We bring back a couple containers of fish rub and some cans of their smoked salmon. We stop off at a couple more shops and arrive just in time to see a family come off a fishing boat with Rock Fish and Halibut. The largest Halibut is about 95 pounds and nearly five feet long. The woman who caught it is smaller than the fish. We work our way along the boardwalk where more bunnies are grazing. Minde tries to feed them carrots and they snub us. According to yet another local character, the eagles eat a lot of them and it helps to keep the population down. Take a rest at the RV and try to dry out some. Have to turn on the heat to deal with the damp. We have set up a tarp tent and it has been helpful to drop wet gear under it so we don’t have to take it into the RV. After a bit we go to a restaurant favored by the locals, the Alaska Halibut House. It has been run by the same family for many years. Chuck and Pat get the halibut basket and fries and Minde gets the cheeseburger and fries. It’s all good. We have a brief reprieve from the rain as we walk back. An eagle flies over us with a fish clenched in his claws and then another one perches on a TV antenna for pictures. So Minde gets to see her eagles! The fog is so low and thick it blanks out the mountains all around us and covers the harbor. The rain continues to come. We’re just glad it’s not snow. They get record snows of 300 inches a winter. We have had a good day and did a lot of stuff. We figure at least 3 or more miles of walking.

Spoke with Brenna today and Dean’s appointment went well. He had to have three different injections and oral polio. He met all his milestones and smiled a lot at Doctor Ryan who said he is a very strong baby, which we knew. He said it’s time to put him in his crib as he is outgrowing the smaller baby bed. The next crib is the Simons family crib. Doc says it’s okay to let him cry to sleep for a little while. Problem is Grandma has a hard time with it! He is 12 pounds 8 ounces and 23 ½ inches long! On target for his growth projections. Baby Dean might be having a tough 24 hours after the shots and dealing with all the vaccinations. We are thinking of him and hoping he does well. For Mom and Dad too, with some sleep!

It’s been another day of adventure. We’re heading north through Thompson Pass tomorrow and on up the Richardson Highway. We will be ready to move on. When Valdez is clear it is incredible, but relentless rain, not so much. Hope to see even more wildlife. Minde is keeping up just fine, it’s the old people who are feeling aches and pains! Quiet evening in the RV. Minde journaling and coloring, Pat and Chuck blogging and downloading pictures. Night.