Farewell, North America! Ola, South America!

WE HAVE ARRIVED! We are in Brazil and feeling somewhat disorientated, as the last two weeks have all happened so quickly. Our feet have barely touched down since leaving West Linn, Oregon, where we stayed with the lovely Cumpstons. The whirl wind tour started from there and led to the Corricello-McDowell's organic walnut farm in Eugene, to the Lee's country cabin in Bend, where we also spent a glorious lunch with Lynn and Lee Poole, to the breath-taking marvels of Crater Lake, into the Napa Valley of California (passing through a town that is genuinely called Weed, which tickled us no end!), to the legendary city of San Francisco, to the redwood country cottage of the Wilhites, to the overwhelmingly spectacular mountains of the Yosemites, to the bizarre and intriguing desert of Joshua Tree National Park, to the final resting place of the Goor's wonderful home in the outskirts of Los Angeles…
There is so much we have still to write up and blog about, but during this entire two thousand-mile section, we were without internet. So the stories will trickle in, once we've had a chance to reflect, breathe and find some more wifi!
After a long and sleepless 11 and a half hour flight from LAX, we arrived in Sao Paulo this morning, somewhat dazed and bleary eyed. We continue the marathon journey this evening, when we take a 12 hour bus ride to Muriae, the town closest to Gus' folks' farm in Minas Gerais state. In the meantime, we are resting in a hotel, restoring some energy, so we have the strength to lug our twelve immodestly-sized pieces of luggage to the bus terminal.
More to follow, with pictures… promise!

Some Facts About Alaska

 As you might have gathered by now from reading this blog, our travels thus far have been greatly impacted by our Alaskan experience. Even though we have now left the main Northwest, the memories we have from the 49^th American state have set the tone for our remaining four months of travel down the west coast and into South America: we now feel prepared for any weather, mountain hike and isolated wilderness that may come our way!

So to honour all that, here is a final piece about Alaska, some of which you may already know, much of which you may not. It’s a kind of Did You Know….

•      Most people assume that Alaska’s state capital is Anchorage. But it’s not! It is, in fact…….Juneau – the only state capital in the US which has no road access (so you can only fly in, or sail into its port, as we did)

•       The flag of Alaska was designed by a Native Indian boy, Benny Benson, when he was only 13 years old. Benny won a state-wide competition for the design back in 1927

The blue field represents the wide-open sky of Alaska, as well as the colour of the state’s flower: the Forget-Me-Not. The sole star in the top right corner represents the North Star, which shows the way of the future for Alaska, also the most northerly state in the USA. The other smaller stars represent the constellation of The Great Bear (or The Big Dipper), which reflects the state’s strength

•      Alaska is way bigger than you can even imagine! The combination of Texas, California and Montana does not even equal the land surface of the 49^th state! It is one-fifth the size of the entire United States!

Alaska measures a total of 586,412 square miles. (That’s 2,400 miles East to West and 1,420 miles North to South). Too much to get your head around, right?!

•    17 of the country’s 20 highest peaks are in Alaska! AND, all of those peaks, as well as another two, are over 14,000 feet. Mount Denali (also known as Mount McKinley) is the highest mountain in the USA at 20,320 feet

Denali is the Native Indian name meaning “The Great One”

•     There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. Alaska’s largest glacier is called Malaspina and measures 850 square miles!

Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline AND a whopping 33,902 miles of shoreline (including all its islands). That’s double the amount of the ‘Lower 48’ (ie. the rest of mainland US)

There are more than three million lakes in Alaska. Its longest river is the Yukon River, which stretches almost 2,000 miles long. The Yukon River is the third longest river in the USA

•      Alaska is full of volcanoes! It has more than 70 potentially active volcanoes. The most violent volcanic eruption in the last century was back in 1912, when Novarupta erupted, creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Katmai National Park

•     North America’s strongest recorded earthquake happened in Prince William Sound, off the coast of Valdez. It occurred in living memory, in March 1964, wiping out the old town of Valdez and being felt as far afield as California, Hawaii and Texas

Alaska’s earthquake was the world’s second biggest ever and measured 9.2 on the Richter Scale 

Back in the "Lower 48".

So, a quick update on our whereabouts. We've finally, and very sadly, left Alaska.

After a few days in the stunning Mt Denali National Park (where despite the intermittent rain we got some fantastic views of grizzlies in the wild),

Denali National Park

Autumn colours in Denali

Grizzly bear in Denali

We drove back briefly through a small section of Canada to get to Haines, which is at the top of the Alaskan panhandle. Stopped here just long enough to get thoroughly soaked again, and then boarded a ferry down to Juneau, the state capital, famous for being accessible only by boat or plane.

We had a glorious campsite close to the Mendenhall glacier, which we didn't see for the longest time until finally, just before we left, the rain finally stopped and the clouds lifted enough to give us a stunning view across the lake to the glacier,

Looking across to the Mendenhall glacier in Juneau

And just enough time to build a fire on which to dry our now sodden tents (imbuing them and us with a powerful and enduring scent of woodsmoke),

Before finally boarding the Alaska Marine Highway ferry that would take us all the way back down through the Alaskan panhandle (for three days and nights, during which our neighbours really came to know and love that woodsmoke smell....),

Marking out our territory in the cinema section of the ferry, where we slept for the 3 nights...

And eventually, through ever-increasingly clear skies,

Views from the ferry

Back to Bellingham in Washington, and our first sight of a genuinely clear blue sky for several weeks!

Early morning sunshine on arrival back in Washington state

Since then we've had a beautiful campsite up on Mt Baker,

Mt Baker

Spent a fabulous few days with our friends David and Jane in Seattle,

Camped on a farm in Washington with a local farmer who used to teach at the University of Zimbabwe (and with whom we found we many friends in common, of course!),

Tents up in the farmyard

Dr Philip Northcraft - former professor of entomology at UZ Crop Science dept, on his farm in WA

And now hooked up with our dear friends the Cumpstons in Portland, Oregon.

With Bryce and Mary at the local car show in Oregon City

Tomorrow we leave Portland for Eugene and Bend, before moving on down to San Francisco and then, before the end of September, we'll be in Brazil!

Alaskan Humour....

.....is dry. As you'd expect, from people who live life much closer to the edge than the rest of us.

Take, for example, this Tsunami warning.

These are official government warnings, posted regularly in many coastal areas of the country, and because tsunamis are a genuine threat.

And here's how one local had distilled the instructions outside his home:

We went to the Alaska State Fair in Anchorage, where we saw an artisanal carver making friendly little woodcarvings to put outside your front door welcoming passers by.

Clearly these were meant for tourists. When we looked at the section where he made woodcarvings for the locals to put outside their doors, this is what we saw:

(This was the same State Fair by the way where, tucked in between a hotdog stand and the candy floss, was a small stall selling guns, with actual guns on display.........!)

Other evidence of the Alaskan sense of humour included the "Panoramic view" sign where they included a helpful artist's rendition of what the panoramic view would look like if the clouds ever lifted....

The helpful suggestion that, in this particular area, dogs aren't allowed to poo. So if you (as we did), find a large pile of fresh poo, it's probably come from a bear.....

And finally, my absolute favourite, genuinely photographed in a public toilet in Alaska, showing how Alaskans respond to public health pronouncements (and, indeed, any other pronouncements) from the government. Check out the helpful hand-written comment under "Wash Your Hands".....

A Different Perspective

Now that we have bid our fond farewell to Alaska and have had a distanced opportunity to reflect on our time there, I have put together some pictures which give a chronicle of certain elements of Alaskan living. Somewhat unusual in their content, admittedly, but a reflection of the quirky interest I have in the mundanity of everyday living…

Part I - Homes

From the grandiose - as found in any economically-healthy society - to the regular practical house, built for the purpose of safe living, if not for any aesthetical reason, to the small and rustic simple-living, to the trashy living quarters of a retired caravan or RV…

Which one would you most like to live a snowy winter in?

 

 

Part II – Vehicles

We have shared many a giggle, gasp of horror, or burst of excitement of what we have seen on the roads, in driveways, parking lots and rubbish dumps! North America is known for its Bigger and Better advertising mantra that has become ingrained in the nation’s psyche. This is manifested in no greater form than the all-American pick-up. Even traditionally small cars have extra-large wheels added to help the cause…

Which one would you most like to cruise around in? (NOT!)

Part III – Wild Flowers

On a far prettier note, the flora of this region’s wilderness is strikingly beautiful. On many an uphill hike, gasping and ready to stop, I have gained succor and encouragement to keep going, just from a brief moment’s acknowledgement of these colourful patches of Nature…

Which one resonates best with you?

dwarf fireweed

labrador tea

subalpine daisy

monkey flower

dandelion

nagoon berry leaves

pink cow parsnip, also called wild celery

tip of the white birch changing into Fall colours

fireweed

fireweed

Part IV - Art

And finally to finish off with, some wildlife art, most of which was taken from the exhibition on show at Seward Sea Life Centre, Kenai Peninsula.

It’s hard to make a choice; I think they’re all great!