Wisdom and Grace: North to Alaska – Part 2

Last spring, I started sharing, “We’re making plans to go to Alaska this summer.” Almost unanimously the response was, “Oh, you’re taking a cruise!” To which I replied, “No. No, we’re not.” “Then you’re flying, right?”

“We’re driving.” And drive we did.

After resurrecting a 1988 Chevrolet long box pickup that had sat in our farmyard for 14 years, we added a popup camper and packed up. I had hoped to leave at noon Thursday, June 13, after teaching Vacation Bible School. Rod and the pickup weren’t ready. Finally, at 7 p.m. Rod came in and said, “OK. Let’s go.”

We threw some last-minute things in and away we went!

About 10 miles from Lincoln we heard a noise we didn’t want to hear. We pulled off the road thinking it was a flat tire. It wasn’t a flat. The tread on the front tires that had sat on the resurrected pickup for 14 years had come off. We limped into Lincoln and stayed the night at their nice town park. The next morning Rod changed the tire using one of the two spares we had brought with us. We made it to Missoula and Tire Rama added two new front tires to the rear two we had purchased in Havre. Now we had four new tires for the resurrected pickup!

We were heading for Gresham, Oregon, where our daughters Beth, Lynn, Amy and families were going to join us in celebrating my sister Myrna and husband Russ’s 50th Anniversary. What a wonderful time we had but we missed Laura and Tim’s family who stayed home to tend the farm and cows.

Monday morning, we bid farewell to everyone and headed north to Alaska. In Olympia, Washington, we stopped for lunch and a visit with cousins (Elmer and Jane, Mary and her daughter Donna) I hadn’t seen in way too long. The visit was heartwarming but we needed to be off and, on our way, north to Alaska.

We hit Seattle right during rush hour but survived and crossed the border at Sumas, Washington. In Chilliwack, British Columbia, we found the Walmart parking lot and with other campers had a very restful night.

Following the Fraser River, we made our way north to Prince George and then west toward Prince Rupert and the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) terminal. Things were going well and we had a little extra time so we took a side trip that turned out to be absolutely wonderful: Salmon Glacier near Hyder, Alaska. About 100 miles east of Prince Rupert we turned north on the Cassiar Highway for about 100 miles and then went west to Steward, Brittish Columbia. From Steward, we went another couple of miles west and arrived in Hyder, Alaska. The only road to Hyder is through British Columbia. We drove north on a gravel road (nothing new to us) for 16 miles and came upon Salmon Glacier. We gazed at the beauty of God’s creation as the glacier came down the valley and then split right below the ledge we were standing on.

We have seen glaciers before, and we saw many more on the rest of our journey, but nothing compares to Salmon Glacier. We couldn’t believe how very few people came to see it. If you get a chance … don’t miss it.

We boarded the Alaska Ferry about 7 p.m. and spent two nights on the ferry, traversing through islands and channels making our way out to Sitka. We arrived in Sitka about 6 a.m. Rod insisted that we get off because on our last trip 30 years ago, I had missed Sitka to stay with our injured friend in Prince Rupert. We took a taxi into Sitka and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Westmark Hotel. After a short walking tour, we hailed the same cab driver and he gave us a side tour of the sight where in 1867 Russia transferred ownership of Alaska to the United States. We hurried back to the ferry for the gorgeous trip onto Juneau.

Disembarking at 5 p.m., we made our way to Mendenhall Lake Campground where we spent three nights. For us, the highlights in Juneau were the state museum and a walk to Mendenhall Glacier. The museum had a special inner-active feature about the Aleutian Islands and WWII. During the war Rod’s father was stationed at Adak and it helped us understand what he had gone through.

From Juneau we boarded the ferry and traveled onto Skagway. Skagway is full of history and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there learning more about the Gold Rush and the Days of ’98. At Dyea we saw the famous Chilkoot Trail where the men (and women) drug their 1,000 pounds of supplies over the pass toward the Klondike.

It was at Juneau and Skagway that I began to realize why most people think the only way to get to Alaska is on a cruise ship. In every port there were four or five HUGE cruise ships. When the ships were docked, the streets were packed and I mean packed with tourists. I remarked, “I guess I’ve lived on the wide-open prairies too long to share a boat (and the streets) with 4,000 (times 4-5 cruise ships) people.” But each to his own. I know some people love to cruise and I might someday like it, too. But for now, I’m just so thankful we were able to drive and see the country and enjoy each other’s company.

I have a few more stories about our ventures to the Arctic Ocean and Denali (the highest mountain in North America) as well as visiting college friends on the Kenai Peninsula. Next time I will give more of a report on the resurrected pickup. And I want to share about some terrific places we stopped to eat and stay. It may take more than just another article to share all of that!

Thank you for all your prayers and kind words. God bless you! It’s great to be home.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me withy all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13.

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Ila McClenahan is a retired chaplain and activity director living on the farm where she was raised in the Amos community north of Havre.