What are you lookin’ at?
October took us from bright blue skies, grazing Elk, and Aspens shimmering with golden leaves in Sun Valley, to the last of vestiges of fall color, increasing dark days, a few Moose encounters, and the first snow of the season in Alaska!
Our first stop in Anchorage was Value Village, our favorite thrift store, because we arrived with the same clothes we wore in Mexico! Once we’d procured hats, gloves, coats, and sturdy footwear we were better able to enjoy our wintry surroundings.
Next up, COVID tests. They were free and easy to get, even though we had them at a drive-through site without a car. They just pulled us aside to a designated “walk-in “ table and did what needed to be done.
Alaska gained statehood in 1959. And while Alaskans are proud Americans, they are so far removed from the shenanigans of Washington D.C, that fierce independence runs deep here. They have two Senators like every other state, but only 1 member in the House of Representatives. Compare that to California’s 52 congressmen and women, and you see why Alaskans need to take care of their own.
That’s part of why we were pleased to volunteer on behalf of Dr. Al Gross, an Independent Senate candidate know locally as “The Bear Doctor.”
Our COVID tests came back negative so we could begin volunteering for Independent Senate candidate, Dr. Al Gross - a continuation of our commitment to work on close Senate races here in the states while we wait to pick up our international Senior Nomad travels where we left off.
As usual, we didn’t rent a car, so we found an Airbnb close to the campaign office. It was cozy and comfortable, and about a 20-minute walk to HQ along a portion of the Chester Creek Trail - a path that followed its namesake through the woods.
Anchorage is stratified with trails like that - some lead to the sea, some through forests, and others across town. The best known, and longest trail is the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which happens to intersect with the trail we used every day. So when we weren’t bee-lining for the campaign office we boosted our step-count with walks to a peaceful lagoon, out along the coastline, or to the city center.
Once we connected with our “handler”, a green-eyed dynamo named Darsen, we were booked solid with projects. She had us build, deliver, and pound in yard signs, knock on doors to encourage support for Dr. Gross, and then deliver mail-in ballot request forms to people who asked our phone volunteers to make that happen. We had use of Darsen’s car and literally crisscrossed the city several times a day.
Anchorage has a rough and ready feel to it. It was dotted with tiny log cabins tucked in between larger homes and businesses - so if you squint you could see how it must have looked 50 years ago when intrepid homesteaders came here from the Lower 48, mostly from the midwest, to stake their claims.
These homesteader cabins were tucked in between business and newer houses all over the city.
Our tasks took us to parts of the city a tourist would never venture. That included some very dodgy trailer parks and finding addresses down deep and winding roads. We did end up in a few nice neighborhoods, but we never saw opulent homes. Even the best of them seemed to have been built in a race against the weather without much thought to design or aesthetics. Add that to the high cost of living and Anchorage did not make our list of places to retire. However, we might return to explore more of Alaska outside of our campaign bubble.
This was the coolest house we came across in downtown Anchorage
And this was the strangest house we stumbled across.
It turned out that COVID ultimately kept the campaign office closed to volunteers, so, once again we were left to our own devices. For instance, there weren’t any tools available to install the yard signs, altough someone gamely suggested we use a can of chili they had on hand to pound them in. Really? Instead, we drove to Home Depot and purchased a small sledgehammer and a pointy piece of rebar to prep the nearly frozen ground. We considered the 25 bucks a campaign contribution.
We had an average of 30 addresses to find each day, so we made another campaign purchase of a detailed Anchorage street map (not so easy to find in the new world of online maps). When we received our daily destinations from Darsen, I would read the addresses to Michael, he would put them in Google Maps, and together we would plot them on the map.
Navigation Old School Style!
We marked each one with a number written on a sticky bit of a post-it note - different colors for different days. Now, this is where you might say …“You know there’s an App for that…right? And eventually, we did realize that. Michael downloaded “Route4Me” and we did a test run. We loaded in the addresses for the day - and yes, the app sorted them in a reasonable order, but it wasn’t much better than our system. And personally, I loved all the plotting and planning and holding on to the map while “Lady Google” gave us turn by turn directions.
Here I am, happy with my map and a red pen to cross out our completed stops. Michael was a delivery truck driver in high school and college so he was in his element!
We found a window of good weather and took two different day-trips. You don’t have to go very far from Anchorage to find stunning Alaskan landscapes. As we left town, the hills surrounding the city still had fall color on the trees and looked like orange flecked muffins dusted with powdered sugar. Soon the hills gave way to craggy, snow-covered mountains with glaciers nestled in their cleavage. Our goal was to drive south along the coast to the tiny town of Whittier for a lunch of fresh-caught halibut.
Our drive took us down the scenic Turnagain Arm, a winding, 200-mile round-trip that allowed us to stop in the little town of Girdwood and the Alyeska Ski Resort. We stopped at the impressive lodge for a break and found the staff optimistic about an early start to the ski season. They need it!
Unbeknownst to us, to get to Whittier there was a $13 toll to enter a two and a half-mile, alternating one-way tunnel. Not unlike taking a ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge, you drove into a lane to wait for the next “crossing”. We cued behind a few other cars and some massive boats on trailers and waited our turn. It took about eight minutes to get from one side to the other.
Heading down scenic Turnagain Arm to Whittier
Whittier on its best day courtesy of Conde Nast Traveler. And here’s an NPR story on this quirky town of 200 residents. Worth a read. Most of the residents live in that white complex in the distance.
I had time to take one “artsy” shot in Whittier before we hightailed it back through the tunnel.
After emerging from the long, dark tunnel we found ourselves at the mouth of Prince William Sound. Any other day during Summer, and perhaps not in “The Time of Covid" we could have enjoyed a lunch of fresh halibut in this quaint fishing village. But every single shop, restaurant, fish shack, and even the local inn was shuttered. There are only 200 people who live here year-round, and we didn’t see a single one of them. With our stomachs growling we scrambled to make the next opening of the tunnel going the other way. Luckily I had a couple of oranges and some cookies to tide us over.
A beary close encounter at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
On our return to Anchorage, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where orphaned and injured animals are brought for recovery. They are either released back into the wild or guaranteed a life of leisure on 200 acres of habitat created just for them. We had close encounters with porcupines, elk, musk ox, moose, howling coyotes, wolves, a bobcat, and bears. Big bears. Three of the largest lumbered so close to the fence I could almost touch them. From there we stopped at Potter’s Marsh, a huge swath of wetlands dotted with boardwalks and “duck blinds” fitted with high-powered binoculars to observe the local flora and fauna.
Potter’s Marsh was a beautiful, early winter stop.
On the second day, we drove north toward Denali to the rustic town of Talkeetna. There we found ourselves at the banks of the Susitna River. We were mesmerized as we watched it dwindling to a trickle under swirls of slow-moving, icy sludge. Locals told us it could be frozen solid within the week.
Denali is the tallest mountain in North America at just over 20,000 feet. Talkeetna is over 100 miles away from the base, but it seemed close enough to scale. The town itself was modest but full of character. There is a cannabis shop called High Expectation that has become a tourist destination, the local grocery store is a timewarp and the Denali Brewpub where we had lunch, was worth the trip. I had the finest beer-battered halibut with sweet potato “chips” I’ve ever tasted. And of course, the microbrews were great.
I notice the word moose was tossed around a lot in Anchorage. There was Moose Tooth Pizza, the Moose on the Loose pot shop, The Chocolate Moose coffee house, Moose and Co Expeditions, and hundreds of moose-themed souvenirs were on offer. And beware of moose crossing signs dotted both city streets and busy highways. Why all the moose? Well, because they are, in fact, everywhere. At first, I didn’t believe these gigantic, gangly-legged beasts just wandered the streets - but that was before we encountered a few of our own.
Our first sighting was of a huge male sitting in the entrance to a development where we were delivering yard signs (the big guy at the top of the blog). I was sure it was a statue because it was so still, and it was in the exact same place and position when we passed it an hour later going the opposite direction. But, because we crossed the city so often, the next time we passed that same spot it wasn’t there. Darn. It was a real moose and I missed it.
I was sure that was the one and the only moose we’d see, but no! The next morning we woke up to find a massive bull right next to our Airbnb. He was just lounging on the lawn vaping clouds of steam in the cold air. Occasionally, he got up off his haunches (rather gracefully) to have a pee - visualize a keg left open for a full two minutes - or to decimate a small tree for a snack.
I was able to get very close to him - although I’ve learned since that wasn’t a good idea. They may look docile, but they are unpredictable and may decide to charge you without notice. But this mellow fellow seemed fine with my gawking. After spending the day with us, he slowly wandered off just before dark.
The next day we met a cow and a yearling calf on the trail walking home from the campaign office. She was equally nonchalant. I told everyone about the moose with a six-foot rack of antlers in our yard and was met with a whole lot of ho-hum. I didn’t care, that big boy stole my heart.
At first, Michael and I were hesitant to go to Alaska. It certainly wasn’t on our travel wish list, and the senate race didn’t seem particularly interesting, but we are so glad we did. It turns out, Dr. Gross is giving the incumbent Senator, Dan Sullivan a real run for his money, and as of today, there are plenty of votes still to be counted. We also met some great folks including the dedicated campaign team and Al’s 84-year-old mother Shari. We will have great memories of our time there.
Our Airbnb in Seattle is in the basement. Maybe not a bad place to be right now.
We left Anchorage for Seattle last week so we could vote in person (via the ballot drop box). Now we are holed up in a comfortable Airbnb near Green Lake, and like so many Seattle Airbnbs it is a converted basement. And maybe that’s a good place to be until the election day dust settles!
A three-mile-walk around Green Lake has given us a daily dose of serenity!
From here, we’ve made the decision to rent an Airbnb in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the month of November, and then fly to Cabo San Lucas for a two-week “Soul Sabbatical” at our friend Chip Conely’s retreat called The Modern Elder Academy. After that, we’ll return to Seattle for the holidays and plan for 2021.
Like many of you, we struggled with when to travel, where to travel, and even if we should travel. And if we chose too, will it be safe? Is it responsible? Are we being selfish? As you can see, we made the decision to continue life, as best we can, as Senior Nomads.
Six months ago COVID stopped us in our tracks in Mexico for almost four months. We felt safe there, but in June, we left San Miguel de Allende to try and make a difference in the U.S. elections. We consciously decided to fly to Montana, Colorado, Idaho, and Alaska. We’ve been on six flights so far. So I guess our thinking is by taking a calculated risk we can get back to the sunshine and spend some time reflecting on the election and one crazy year! It also helped that we were able to buy travel insurance from IMG with COVID coverage.
We look forward to returning to Puerto Vallarta where we will spend most of our time sequestered in this lovely room(s) with a view.
There are several safely protocols in place at The Modern Elder Academy, including limited guests.
We are uncertain what the New Year will bring but we are hopeful the America we love will be on a path to healing, and so will we, and everyone we care about. Stay safe, and stay well.
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads