We slept in this morning and we all showered in the motor home so we left the campground a little late. We still had to drive 2 hours to get to Denali.
We arrived at Denali National Park entrance after noon. We watched a video in the visitor’s center and then watched the sled dog demo.
Hannah wasn’t feeling well so she and Eva went back to the motor home. It was still too early to check into the campground so Zac and I went to the visitor’s center and the gift shop. We spent the a few hours in that area. It was finally time to check in, so we went and dumped the tanks and checked into our campground in the Riley Creek campground. We went to bed early because of the mosquitoes and also since we need to get up early tomorrow for our bus tour.
Jun 28, 2013
This morning we got up at 5:00 am to get ready for our shuttle bus tour. The bus left the bus stop at 5:45 am, and you had to be on time. The bus tour was pretty good. The tour we chose was the all day tour that took us on 92 miles of dirt road. There were several stops on the road to look at the beautiful views or the wildlife. We saw a sow grizzly and two cubs with in the first hour or two.
A little while later we saw another grizzly up on a hill, and then an hour after that we saw 2 more grizzlies off the road a ways. We also saw Doll sheep, caribou and a moose. Hannah has been keeping track of what wildlife we see in Alaska and here is the list. Lots of sea otters, sea lion, porpoises, 2 moose, one wolf, 6 grizzlies, about 10 caribou, 4-5 bald eagles and maybe some more.
The road ended at Wonder Lake and we ate lunch near the lake. We didn’t stay long because the mosquitoes were very bad there. After eating lunch, the tour bus turned around and started the ride back to the visitors center.
We never got to see Mt McKinley. It was overcast and smoky on the way out, and on the way back the clouds really closed in. We were at the Eliason Visitor’s Center and we watched a cloud come in and cover us and leave visibility at zero. The ride back was rainy and everyone was tired, but we did see a few caribou.
We got back to the campground about 6:30 pm and it started raining. We ate dinner in the RV and then stayed inside the rest of the evening.
This morning we got up and everyone showered. It was a windy day, but it was sunny and warm. We dumped the RV tanks at the Seward city dump and then drove 20 minutes to Exit Glacier. We had scheduled the 10:00 am Ranger tour. The tour was a 1-1/2 hour. The ranger did a good job telling about the glacier and the area. We hiked up the mountain to the glacier. It is amazing the colors of the ice and the tunnels and cracks through the ice.
After the glacier tour we started driving back towards Anchorage. We stopped at Tern Lake to eat lunch. It was better weather, but it was raining off and on.
After lunch we continued to drive towards Denali. We stopped at Bird Point, on Turnagin Bay but it was too windy to stay long. The tide was going out and it looked like a river running out. Today was supposed to be one of the bigger bore tides, but it would not happen for several hours, so we did not wait.
We drove through Anchorage and on to Wasilla. In Wasilla we stopped at the Iditirod World Headquarters. It was a little interesting but we only stayed for an hour. We gas up the motor home before leaving Wasilla.
We drove north on the highway looking for a store to buy groceries, but could not find one. We stopped at a small gas station, but the food was too expensive, so we kept driving.
We finally found a larger store all by itself on the road. It was called Cubby’s IGA. The prices were still expensive but we still spent over $100 to hopefully buy enough food to last the rest of the trip.
We kept driving north until about 9:00 pm. We stopped to camp at Denali State Park at Beyers Lake campground. It was a very nice campground, but the mosquitos were the worst we had seen. To go out and cook some burgers I got fully suited up with long pants, a jacket, gloves and my head net. And I still sprayed on repellent. And I still got bit by the bugs. We were warned that the mosquitoes were very bad this year, and the warnings were correct. By the time we cooked and ate dinner it was pretty late, so we went to bed after dinner.
This morning we were up early for our kayaking trip. Before we left camp we called Alyssa to wish her a Happy Birthday.
We had an all-day kayaking trip from Miller’s Landing on Powell Point to Caines Head State Park. We paddled about 4.2 miles out, and then hiked 2 miles to a WW2 fort/bunker at the top of a mountain. We ate lunch at the bunder and then hiked back down. At the beach there were a group of Young Women starting Girls Camp. Eva talked to the leader, but she didn’t get where they were from in Alaska. Our tour guide was Alex from Serbia. He has only been guiding for 2 months, but he says he does a tour every day. He seemed a little inexperienced, but we made it out and back safe.
There were 2 other couples with us. One was from Miami, the other from El Paso. Hannah and I were in one kayak, and Eva and Zac in the other. It was a fun day. We left around 9:00 am and were back by 4:00 pm. The bay was very calm, and that made it more fun. It was surprising to me how much the tide changed the water line. The tide came in while we were hiking and the water line came up 50 feet up the beach.
After getting back to camp, we walked down to the harbor and watched the fishermen come in and weigh and clean their catch.
Today we woke up earlier and got ready for church. We went to the Soldotna ward. One of the Bishopric was Craig Wilcox who lived in Lehi and went to school with me until 9th grade. We went to both meetings, as today was the WW leadership meeting, so they only had Sacrament and PH/RS meetings.
After church we change clothes in the parking lot and started driving towards Homer. Homer is at the tip of the peninsula and about a 2 hour drive from Soldotna. For lunch we stopped along the Kenai river. When we arrived in Homer we first stopped at the Pratt Museum and spent about 1 hour there. This museum showed the history of the Homer area and contained a lot about the fishing industries.
After the museum we drove our campground at the end of the Homer Spit. The Homer Spit is a long and skinny section of land at the end of the peninsula. We got a spot on the beach for $32. It was not great but it was better view than the other sites. The sites were not well maintained and very close.
Later that afternoon we went for a walk down the boardwalk to see the shops. Then we came back and barbequed chicken for dinner. After dinner we sat and watched the fishing boats come in to dock. We also walked down the boardwalk and got some ice cream for dessert. After that we came back and played games and then went to bed.
Jun 24, 2013
Last night it rained for most of the night, but it stopped by the time we woke up. It seemed like it was light all night long. After breakfast we walked to a few more shops. While we were driving off the spit we saw a bald eagle perched just off the road. We left Homer about 11:00 am. We drove to Soldotna and stopped at Fred Meyers to get $150 of gas and some groceries. We then continued on to Seward, with a stop for lunch at a rest stop just past Cooper’s Landing.
We arrived in Seward just after 5:00 pm. We camped at the city campground on the waterfront. It was a very nice camping spot. After setting up camp we walked to the Alaska Sea Life Center. The center was built with money paid to the state of Alaska from the Exxon Valdez oil spill several years before. As we traveled around the state, there were many project that were funded by money from that settlement. The Sea Life Center was pretty good tour. They had a special program were the trainer came out and talked about the sea life.
This morning I woke up pretty early. It was pretty light outside but I stayed in bed for a while, until the rest of the woke up. We got out of bed at 8:00 am and after dressing we ate breakfast. The visitor center at Portage Glacier opened a 9:00 am and we arrived a little before it opened. We spent about an hour there at the visitor center. The glacier has changed a lot since I was there in 1992. In 1992 the glacier was huge and not far off the road. In 2013, the glacier had receded around the corner of the bay, so you could not see anything from the visitor center.
We had to drive around the mountain for the 10:30 am tunnel crossing. The tunnel to Wittier is 2-1/2 miles long and is only one lane wide and is shared with the train. When driving, you have to wait for your turn as they send traffic one way, and then the other. When there is a train, no one can drive through. We had to pay a $12 toll and then take our place in line. It took about 15 minutes to drive through the mountain.
Wittier is just on the far side of the mountain. The population is only 220 people, almost all the residents live in one large apartment building. There was a cruise ship in the harbor so I am sure the tourist outnumber the resident 10 to 1.
We parked in the big parking lot and went to get our tickets for our boat tour. We had about an hour so we walked on the boardwalk and down to the private boat harbor to look at the boats.
We boarded the Glacier tour boat about noon. The cruise left at 12:15 and returned at 5:30 pm. We rode about 110 miles round trip. They served a salmon and prime rib buffet for lunch with some desert on the way back. On the way to Surprise Glacier we rode around Ester Island. There were several large groups of sea otters floating in the ocean. When we boated into a small bay we saw several bald eagles in the trees.
Our destination was the Surprise Glacier in Harriman Fjord. They took the boat quite close to the glacier. We the glacier calve off a few chunks of ice. As we arrive at the glacier a big one calved off, but nothing big while we were there. On the way back to Whittier, we stopped at a rock where a large group of birds roosted.
After we got back to Whittier we walk a little around town until we left in the RV and for the 6:30 pm tunnel crossing.
After passing through the tunnel we drove to across the Kenai peninsula to Soldotna. We decided to camp in the Fred Meyer’s parking lot with about 20 other RVs. We originally stopped at a campground by the river, but there were so many mosquitoes and they wanted $20 night. Since it was so late and were leaving early the next morning, we decided to take the free spot.
We ate Hot Pockets for dinner and then went to bed. It was about 10:30 pm and still very light outside.
Today was the first day of our Alaska trip. Last night we drove to Snow College and picked up Hannah from soccer camp. We got home about 9:30 pm and started packing. We didn’t get to bed until about mid-night.
This morning we got up and drove to the airport. The flight left about 10:00 am and we arrive in Anchorage at 12:30 pm their time. The motor home rental place picked us up from the airport. It took about 1-1/2 hour to checked in for the motorhome and unpacked. We next drove to Wal-Mart and purchased about $250 of food. It was about 6:00 pm when we got out of Wal-Mart and drove out of Anchorage.
It was a little more than an hour driving to get to the Portage Glacier road. We drove up that road and found the last campsite at Williwaw campground. We paid $18 for the night. We had eaten a late lunch so we were not very hungry. We went on a 2 mile hike and got back to the RV at around 9:00 pm. We were all pretty tired so we went to bed early. Here it is about 9:15 pm and still very light outside.
Here is a bear deposit that we found on the trail. It looked pretty fresh, so we made more noise as we walked on the trails.
Today was our last day on the cruise. We were up at 6:30 am and got ready. We ate breakfast and then got on the bus. It started raining as we loaded and rained the rest of the day. It was a two hour drive to the hotel in Rome. There was a lot of traffic and the weather was bad.
We quickly unloaded the bus at the hotel, and then we went to the Vatican. We were unable to go to the Sistine Chapel. It was closed due to a special mass for the 500 year anniversary of the Vatican. We next stood in the line for St Peter’s Basilica. We stood in line for 2 hours during pouring rain. We were all soaking wet by the time we got in the building. The place was packed, but it was very impressive. There were several ceremonies going on as we walked through the building. There were many art displays and even several bodies of the Popes in tombs through out the rooms.
After our time in the Basilica, we went back to the hotel. Everyone was wet and cold. We went to a Pizzeria with the two sisters to eat dinner. We both went to bed early.
Nov 1, 2012
We got up and ate breakfast early, and then at 9:00 am we met the bus and rode to the Coliseum. We had to wait for the guide to fix her speaker and then we waited 45 minutes for the guide to get our tickets. So it was an hour just waiting to get in Coliseum. We only spent about 45 minutes in the Coliseum. It was a large and impressive site. It was amazing how they built these huge structures so many years ago.
We then went to San Paolo fuori le Mara, which is the church where the Apostle Paul is buried. This was like St Peter’s Basilica but not as big. Next we parked the bus and started walking. We walked to the Pantheon, but they were having a special mass and we could not go in. We looked through the doors and then they started closing the doors. We got there 5 minutes before they closed. This happened way too many times on this trip. We then walked to la Fontana di Trevi. This is a big fountain that has been shown in many movies.
After the fountain we had free time. We walked a little while and then had lunch. We went with the sisters and the couple from Maryland. We ate in a sidewalk café and both Eva and I had spaghetti. Mine was spaghetti with bacon and eggs instead of tomato sauce. Eva had regular spaghetti sauce. So we ate both pizza and spaghetti in Rome.
We then walked down near the Coliseum and walked by the Roman Forum. This is a big collection of ruins. Next we went to look for the church that has Michelangelo’s statue of Moses. We got some bad directions, but finally found it.
Finally we walked back to the hotel. We stopped for some Gelato and got ripped off by the vendor. They charge all of us too much, they told us $5 for a cup of Gelato, but charged $5 per scoop. And then they would not take credit cards. I told Eva that it was like getting pick pocketed without being touched by a stranger.
The rest of our group went back to the hotel, but Eva and I kept shopping. We got some stuff for the kids, and then went back to the hotel. Later in the evening we went for a walk through the streets of Rome. We got lost for a little while but we finally found our way back.
Nov 2, 2012
Today was the last day of our trip (we thought). We left the hotel at 7:30 am and made it to the airport on time. The airline messed up our reservation, so Eva and I were not seated together. As we were boarding the plane, we found that another lady from our group had the seat next to mine, so she and Eva switched. The flight from Rome was delayed 3 hours, so we ended up missing our connecting flight in Boston. This gave us one more day for our trip. We spent the night at the Airport Hilton Hotel. They gave us meal vouchers for dinner and breakfast.
The next morning we boarded the flight for Salt Lake and had no problems getting home. Zac and Alyssa picked us up at the airport.
Today we docked in Alexandria, Egypt. We were not sure if we had a tour, because we thought we had scheduled through Ramsey’s Tours, but we did not confirm before we left. After we passed through customs we went outside but could not find our tour guide. We did find someone from the same company so he helped us get a driver. We had Haney as our personal guide. He is from Alexandria and has been guiding for about 20 years. We had a private tour with just Eva and I. We first went on a driving tour of waterfront area. The traffic was very light because of the Muslim festival. This is the celebration for the pilgrimage to Mecca. They spend 4 days feasting all night long so they sleep in late. However, when they wake up later in the morning, they start celebrating again, and at that point the traffic got real bad. They had celebrations going on all around the town. They had street markets and amusement rides everywhere. There are buses that bring people in from the rural areas for the day’s celebration.
The first stop was the new Alexandria library. However, it was closed due to the holiday. We then drove to the King’s winter palace grounds. It was over 340 acres with 2 palaces, and gardens all around. The gardens are open to the public and one palace is now a hotel. The other palace is for Heads of State or other VIPs.
Next, we drove to the Pillar of Pompey. While we were there they started the call for noon prayer. The mosques have loudspeakers that call everyone to prayer, but there are so many mosques they over-talk each other. We did not see anyone praying, but we were in a tourist area, not where most people were. It seems the locals are quite practical. They still continue what they are doing, even in the prayer time. They have 5 times for prayer each day.
We then went to the ruins of a Roman Theater. This area was excavated while they were going to build a stadium. There is a small amphitheater, a school and a Roman bath area. There was also an area where they think may have been markets. Everything is 20-30 feet below the current street level. The theater is designed with perfect acoustics. You could stand in a spot and hear yourself speak like you were amplified.
At this site they had a bunch of archaeological finds that were recovered from the ocean floor off the coast of Alexandria. This location was the place that they restored and cleaned the pieces. However, they are not doing it now because they don’t have the money. They had a pile of ancient pots just piled up next to a building. They don’t have the money and these types of pots were very common. Haney was telling us everywhere they dig; there are ruins from some period of time. Since everything they build was from stone, the ruins last a long time. Alexandria has been a major location for people to live for several thousand years.
The next stop was the Abu-el-Abbas el Mursi Mosque. We just took a few pics of the outside, Because of the festivals, the grounds were covered with markets and amusement rides.
Next we drove and looked at the remains of the lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Only the base remains, as the tower fell in the sea during an earthquake. It was over 400 ft high and was the world’s first lighthouse. It was just too crowded to drive very close. The traffic had gotten quite bad. They do not have traffic laws and don’t obey any signs or road lines. The pedestrians just go wherever they want and weave in and out of traffic. I am very surprised that we did not have some type of accident or hit a pedestrian. These drivers are very good.
We ate lunch at a seafood place on the harbor; it was a pretty fancy place. Eva even ate fish. That was a first. She did not eat all of it, but some of it. We did not eat the salad, but the dessert was ice cream and fruit. These were the two things they told us not to eat. But this was a pretty nice place, and Alexandria was much cleaner and more modern than Port Said, or even the parts of Cairo we were in. We thought it would be okay. Plus we wanted some ice cream.
After our tour of the city we drove back to the ship. We went to the hot tub, and then we ate with the two sisters from our group. We were about 3 hour’s late leaving Alexandria because someone died on the ship. We had to wait while the removed the body. We don’t know what happened, but probably old age. With the group on this ship I’m surprised some one doesn’t die every day.
Later that evening we heard the delay in leaving port was because the local official did not want the body unloaded in Egypt. But the ship and the family wanted to end the cruise and go home. There was quite a discussion on the ship’s gangway trying to resolve the issue. We never heard what they worked out.
This morning we docked early in Port Said, Egypt. We got off the boat at 6:30 am, but didn’t make it to the bus until 7:00 am. Egypt is very dirty, even worse than Jerusalem. They also have very aggressive street vendors. But things are a lot cheaper here than the other places.
We had a 3 hour drive from Port Said to Cairo. The buildings/homes throughout this area of Egypt are almost all unfinished. This is the way they avoid taxes. They leave the top floor half built so they can add another floor as their family grows. They have concrete posts and rebar sticking out the top.
Ahmed was our guide, and we had a security guard that carried an Uzi. About half way to Cairo the air conditioning to the bus stopped working. It became very hot and stinky. Some of the older people on the bus were ready to pass out. We finally made it to Cairo and stopped at the National Museum of Cairo. This museum holds over 250,000 exhibits, but we only had a little time there. We saw the treasures of King Tut, and went into a special room full of mummies. After our visit to the museum, we drove over the Nile River and stopped at a jewelry shop. Eva bought some cartouche medallions for the girls and herself. They were about $40 each.
After shopping we ate lunch at a hotel. After eating, we got a new bus with A/C that worked. Our next stop was The Great Pyramids of Giza. We first stopped at an overlook and rode a camel into the Sahara Desert. We took some pictures of the pyramids. It was fun to ride the camels. It cost us $20 each for the ride and tip.
We then went to the pyramids and paid $5 to go into the tomb of the pyramid. We walked down a steer ramp that had a low ceiling, and then the chamber went up into the pyramid. The main tomb room was quite big. There was a vault in the room and we got a picture (for $1) and then were allowed to leave the room for $1. It seemed there were people everywhere wanting money. I’m not sure everyone in the pyramid was there officially collecting money.
After the pyramids we loaded up the bus and drove over to the Sphinx. It was late in the day so the sun was setting right behind the sphinx, therefore we did not get any good pictures.
Everywhere we went there were vendors, both young and old, wanting to sell something. We bought a few things for the kids. They were very aggressive and made it difficult to walk down the paths. They would hand you something, and then not take it back unless you paid them. I had I guy put a bunch of papyruses on my arm and I had to dump them to get away from him.
After visiting the sphinx we stopped and picked up the jewelry that had been engraved. Next was a 3-1/2 hour drive back to the port.. We arrived at the port just before 8 pm. When we walked onto the ship, the Egyptians had about 100 kids there to cheer us on as we boarded. They were very glad to have the cruise ships back in Egypt. Our ship was the first cruise ship to stop for several years, due to violence and political issues in Egypt. It was a very busy day and a lot of driving and spending money.
Neither of us slept real well. We woke up at 5:30 am and got ready to go. We had breakfast at the hotel. Our first stop in the morning was the Mount of Olives. The streets were crowded because it was a Muslim holiday. It took quite a while to drive there. And it took even longer to get out of the area because there were so many buses coming into the area. While on the Mount we could see the location of several sites that were prominent in the last days of Christ’s life. Everything in the city is much closer than what I expected, however, everything is either uphill or downhill. We could see the Dome of the Rock, which is the location where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. It is also the location of the first and second temples.
From the Mount we could see the walls of old Jerusalem. The current walls were built in 1530. Jerusalem was inside the walls until 1830. There are 8 gates to the city but 1 gate is sealed. It was sealed by the Muslims to keep out the Savior. It is called the Golden Gate and is the gate overlooking Gethsemane.
After the Mount of Olives we drove to the Church of Gethsemane. This is a Catholic Church that is built in the area. The church is built over a rock that they think was the rock Christ kneeled at. There was a church service going on while we were there, but everyone was going and taking pictures. It seemed a little strange to be in there during a service, but I think they are used to it.
Many times throughout our trip, the guide would say this was a traditional site, or there are some that think… For example, there are many Churches of the Ascension. Each church’s owners believe that their church is a the place where Christ ascended to heaven. No one can agree on the actual location. However, there are a few places where everyone agrees on the exact location where Christ was. One is at the synagogue in Capernaum. The other is at the Pool of Mercy in the walls of Old Jerusalem.
Our next stop was the old city of Jerusalem. We entered the the old city through the Lions Gate, where the martyr of Stephen took place.
Most of Jerusalem from the time of Christ is 30 to 40 feet below the current ground level. They would just build on top of the previous buildings. There are archeology digs all around the original city. Gethsemane is at the original ground level, as they have identified 8 olive trees that are 2000 years old. The roads and ground we were walking on was many feet above the level of the ground at the time of Christ. The Pool of Mercy has been excavated down to the level of the time of Christ so this is one spot they know it is exactly where Jesus was.
Later as we walked through the old city, we walked on the street that is the traditional site of where Christ carried the cross. Because of time we had to hurry through, but we saw a group that was recreating the event of Christ carrying the cross.
We exited the city through the Damascus Gate and walked to the Garden Tomb area. As a whole, the old city of Jerusalem was very crowded and dirty. There was trash everywhere. There were also vendors everywhere selling everything. Asher told us to watchout for pickpockets, and the nights are very dangerous in the city. In the city we saw a high military presence.
We walked a couple of blocks to the Garden Tomb. This is an area where many think the crucifixion and internment took place. It is owned and ran by a British organization, and staffed with volunteers. They took over in 1860 and excavated the tomb in the 1800s. This place has what some think is Golgotha and Joseph of Ameritha’s tomb. There are three hints that this might be the site. first was the skull shaped hill, second, it was on the major road between Jericho and Damascus and third, it was outside a major gate to the city (the Damascus Gate). These were all hints that are in the bible.
We were able to visit the tomb and look in it. There was a lower area where they say Jesus would have been lain. We could only spend a few minutes in the tomb, as there were so many trying to get in.
There were a lot of people there, but it seem everyone was a little more reverent than at the other sites. The tour guide had a spot reserved where we sat for a while. As a group we sang “He is Risen”. This was the place and time where I felt the spirit the strongest.
It’s a little different then what I expected. Golgotha and the tomb are less than 50 yards apart. Now there is a Arab bus terminal at the foot of Skull Hill. This is likely where the crosses would be. The crosses would not have been put on the hill, because the Romans wanted them close to the road. This way the people on the road could easily see them. The tomb did not have the stone in front of it, but there was a groove that a stone would fit into.
The next stop was the West Wall of the city, also known as the Wailing Wall. This place had a lot of security. There were a metal detectors, and Police and Military all around. The West Wall has been a location of much violence over the years.
As you entered the wall area you had to cover your head and the men and women were separated and had separate parts of the wall to pray at. You could write a prayer on a piece of paper, and then push the paper into the cracks on the wall. They have someone pick up the prayer notes that fall out of the cracks and bury them at Gethsemane.
The Wailing Wall area was very crowded. The Jewish men would pray quite hard at the wall. There is a section of the wall that is inside the building and it was full of people praying. Only the first 6 courses of the wall above the ground are original. In more recent years, the wall had been built to 60 ft high.
Corey & Eva's Travels 
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