Day 118 – July 6 (Alaska Day 27) – Seward to Anchorage

We spent the night in a pullout on the side of the Seward Highway about 10 miles from Seward.  In the morning I pointed out to Dorrie the crime scene yellow tape not to far from our camper.  I had seen it the night before and didn’t think about it too much.  Dorrie looked around and said, “Here is the shell casing”.  Sure enough there it was, maybe 6 feet from the crime scene tape.

We were on our way back to Anchorage for a couple of days.  On the way we stopped several times to take pictures.  The clouds were hanging so low in the mountains that you could see the mountain peaks above the clouds.  It was an awesome sight.

We stopped in Moose Pass at a waterwheel for some pictures and to sharpen by pocketknife.

The community got its name, so the story goes when a moose stepped in front of the postman and his dog team and stopped them in their tracks.  There were so many moose in the area the locals named it Moose Pass.

We stopped at the Alaskan Wildlife and Refuge Center while the Ottos continued on to Anchorage.  The center takes in injured or orphaned native wildlife.  If possible they are released back into the wild, however some have to live at the center because they are not able to go back into the wild.

We saw musk ox (including two babies), two adult male moose, two-month-old moose calves, lots of elk, wood bison, an injured Bald Eagle, a porcupine, a lynx, an owl, black tail deer, and bears (black and grizzly).

One of the baby moose we were told was found chained up in a back yard and they think the plan was to raise it as a pet.

This was not like a zoo setting or a drive thru animal attraction.  There was very little interaction with the animals unless necessary for the well being of the animal.

They have plans to release the wood bison next year.  They were once thought to be extinct in Alaska.

Our next stop was the Wild West Guns store, which is the basis for the television show “Wild West Alaska”.  This stop was one of the things Dorrie wanted to do on this trip.  We found the store with the aid of the Internet and GPS, and it was closed!  We will try again on Monday.

We then drove to the Cabelas store, our campground host while we are in Anchorage.  Rick was already on the lot – they have a special area for RVs to stay and a free dump station for your holding tanks.  He said they were just getting ready to go downtown, so we joined them.

After we parked, I walked to the visitor’s center to see about a vet for Sadie.  She is still not feeling good.  This morning we had her coat on her and held her wrapped in a towel and she was still shaking.  Tomorrow we call a vet and get her in to find out what is going on.

I also asked about the Ulu knife tour shuttle.  The lady at the visitor’s center said the shuttle stops just out side their door, but the factory was not far from them and they have a big lot we could park on for the tour.

We hit some gift shops and drove back towards the campers.  We stopped at an Outback Steak house for some beef – we are all starting to grow gills from all the seafood we have been eating.