Alaska – Biking 100

Alaska #49

August 9 – 14, 2021

We began our Alaska 100 while in Seward and completed our rides while in Fairbanks.

Ready to start our Alaska miles. Riding our 49th state in the 49th state.

Our first ride in Fairbanks was on Fort Wainwright. We made an ice cream run and a tour of the post with Erik, Paul and Martha.

Ice Cream Ride

Birch Hill Ski Area

Our next ride began at the Birch Hill Ski Area. This was a fun ride with beautiful views from Birch Hill all while still on post.

The whole gang is ready to ride. Paul, Helena, Erik, Inga and Diana. Note the kids are in shorts and T’s while I probably added a down vest.

Long down hill and long up hill – on post near ski area.

Paul, Helena and Inga patiently waiting for us to catch up.

Chena Lakes State Recreation Area

What an awesome ride for Paul and Martha. We rode 18.5 miles, which was the longest distance they had ever ridden. We are so blessed to be able to share this Alaska 100 with them.

Erik and Martha riding on Moose Creek Dam.

Moose Creek Dam is part of the Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project which was built following the August 1967 Fairbanks Flood.

Coming down from dam into flood plane. Took gravel roads thru woods past lakes and ended at Chena River.

Paul hiking his bike up onto dam. We found an easier way down.

I really like Alaska’s reminder for keeping kids safe around water. KIDS DON’T FLOAT!!

Lenny, Paul, Erik and Martha near Chena River

Badger Road Bike Trail

Six of us riding on a cloudy day hoping to avoid the rain. Erik and the kids are determined to see we reach our 100 mile mark.

Paul kept things interesting taking the dirt path/ditch alongside the asphalt path.

Chena Lakes State Recreation Area

We returned to Chena Lakes to complete our 100 Alaska miles. There were many new areas for us to explore.

Big pile of bikes – ready for our final ride to reach 100 miles in Alaska.

Inga and I putting in miles on our final day of riding.

Inga, Helena, Erik, Paul and Lenny – Chena Lakes State Recreation Area

Thanks to Erik and our wonderful grandchildren we completed our Alaska 100.

Martha was missing from the above picture. She road many of the 100miles with us.

This 100 miles is dedicated to our Alaska family.

Seward to Fairbanks, AK

August 6-7, 2021

Friday August 6th, Heather, Inga, Helena, Martha and I boarded the Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic for a 4 hour trip to Anchorage.

We traveled thru the Kenai Mountains viewing glaciers, beautiful forests and remote lakes. This was an unforgettable experience. We were able to just sit and enjoy this spectacular wilderness from our large picture windows.

Going around curves we could see the engine.

The conductor would slow down when there was something of interest to view. A narrator alerted passengers of moose, eagles, osprey and Dall sheep sightings

Heading into Anchorage we had the Chugach Mountains on one side and the Kenai Mountains on the other.

Coastal Classic travels from Seward to Anchorage. The Denali Star travels from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

We arrived in Anchorage shortly after 10 PM. Our hotel, Anchorage Grand Hotel, was only a short walk from the train station. After a good nights sleep we were at the train depot at 7:15 AM to take the Denali Star to Fairbanks.

Erik, Lenny and Paul left Seward at 6 AM for the drive to Fairbanks. They would be taking the Seward Hwy to Anchorage and then the Glenn Hwy to Fairbanks. Our routes would intersect at several points.

Our 12 hour journey to Fairbanks took us through the Chugach Mountains near Anchorage, the Talkeetna Mountains and finally the Alaska Range in the Denali National Forest.

We stopped in Talkeetna to unload passengers. It is the point from which most Denali climbing and flightseeing expeditions depart.

Erik, Lenny and Paul were in Talkeetna when we arrived. Guess where they were?

North Shore Cyclery – we saw the guys waving at the train from here.

Our train car had a dome and the views were awesome.

View from dome looking towards back of train. The low clouds made viewing Denali impossible.

Bridge over Nenana River gorge. Our train passed below the bridge. The guys crossed the gorge on this bridge.

Once again the narrators were great at informing passengers when there was something of note to observe. There were sightings of moose, eagles, osprey and trumpeter swans.

Our arrival in Fairbanks. What an incredible journey. Alaska is, big and beautiful and we were blessed to see it’s magnificent beauty. God’s handiwork!!

Seward, Alaska

Monday August 2 – 6, 2021

We arrived in Anchorage on Monday August 2nd about 4:30pm. The views from the plane were beautiful.

Erik, Inga and Paul met us at the airport to take us to Seward. Getting hugs from all of them was the best Alaska welcome! Seward is located at the northern end of Resurrection Bay a fjord in the Gulf of Alaska.

We stopped to look for Beluga whales along the Seward Highway en route to Seward.

Heather, Helena and Martha were waiting for us in Seward at the Mt. Marathon View rentals. We had another wonderful welcome to Alaska.

We stayed just a short walk from the small boat harbor and the mouth of the river where Erik and Paul went fishing.

We spent 4 wonderful days in beautiful Seward. Every day was filled with new adventures – fishing, beachcombing, boat tour of Resurrection Bay, watching the fishing boats return to port in the evening, biking and more.

Erik cleaning his King Salmon with an audience.

We took an exciting and informative Kenai Fjords Wildlife tour with a stop on Fox Island for lunch.

Beach on Fox Island – lots of heart shaped rocks for skipping. Erik, Heather, Inga, Helena and Paul and Martha.

Our tour boat docked at Fox Island pier.

Helena, Inga and Martha on wildlife tour.

We saw puffins, eagles, mountain goats, a humpback whale, sea otters and sea lions as seen in picture.

Martha became a Kenai National Park Jr Ranger.

The fishing boats would begin to come into the docks about 4:30 pm. We would would walk along the docks to see the huge number of halibut and salmon that had been caught.

We rented bikes at Seward Bike Shop which is housed in an old train car. Lenny and I had fun riding the bike path along Resurrection Bay out to Lowell Point.

View of Resurrection Bay from bike bath. Pilings are what remain of docks after 1964 Good Friday tsunami.

Dog sled at 0 mile marker of Historic Iditarod Trail. Long before the Iditarod was an international dog sled race it was a 2300 mile trail that began in Seward.

We went to Lowell Point at low tide beachcombing. Heather found a starfish, Paul searched for crabs. There was some beach glass to be found also.

Low tide at Lowell point – at high tide only the top of this rock is visible.

Paul loved finding crabs under rocks at low tide on the beach at Lowell Point.

Heather found this starfish on the beach. After a little”show and tell” she returned it to the water.

Olympic swimmer Lydia Jacoby, a Seward resident, won a gold and silver medal in Tokyo. She is the first Alaskan to win a gold medal in swimming. The town oganized a parade to celebrate her return from Tokyo.

Erik, Heather and family – flag flying in celebration of olympic swimmer Lydia Jacoby.

We spent a few hours one afternoon visiting the Alaska Sealife Center. We all enjoyed seeing the puffins fly under the water. There was a tide pool with every color and size of starfish imaginable.

Juvenile Puffin at Alaska Sealife Center, his name was Hans and he was very curious and loved being near people.

Moon starfish – while on Fox Island we saw a “smack”, which is a large group of thousands of starfish.

There was even a skateboard park. Martha and Paul show off their skills.

Fire weed gets it’s name because it is the first plant to grow after a fire.

We loved Seward. The best part was having Erik, Heather and the kids sharing “their Alaska” with us.

We left Seward by train on Friday August 6th. More adventures to follow.