McCarthy Road

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="13c785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Wrangell-St. Elias Tours</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WrangellSt. Elias Tours"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>1-888-478-5258</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="13dd2b03.jpg"> <div> <I>Tours and Transportation to McCarthy, and Kennicott, Alaska</I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="22ab9700.jpg" border=0 width="185" height="112" ALT="shuttle van" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="22cb9880.jpg" border=0 width="185" height="136" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <I>jen@cvalaska.net</I></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>McCarthy Road </I><I>2011</I></div> <div> Page 1   <A HREF="mccarthyroad_blog.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McCarthy Road Blog"><U>2 </U></A>  <A HREF="blog.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McCarthy Road, Alaska Blog"><U>3</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="22f42830.jpg" border=0 width="578" height="387" ALT="Chitina River viewed from the McCarthy Road" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="708" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 300 WIDTH="696"><div> 7-26-11</div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="the_forecast"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>Next Week's Trips</U></B>  </div> <bR> <bR> <div>      It was sunny today despite the partly cloudy with chance of rain forecast!</div> <bR> <bR> <div>      We are completely booked this week, but we still have a few openings next week for the <B>12.5 Hour Tour with Root Glacier Hike</B>. We have seats available on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  </div> <bR> <div>      Give us a call or email to reserve a spot and let us know if you have any questions.  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 662 ><NOBR><div> 7-25-11</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="after_the_storm"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>After the Storm</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="22475d80.jpg" border=0 width="629" height="472" ALT="drying out after a storm, Wrangell-St. Elias national Park" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 453 WIDTH="696"><div> 7-21-11</div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="bonanza_mine_trail"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>Bonanza Mine Trail</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div>      People always tell me they want to visit the "Mine," but few visitors go further than the Kennicott townsite. If you really want to see where the ore deposit was mined, take time to hike to one of the Kennicott mine sites located directly above the Kennicott Mill and Townsite.</div> <bR> <div>      The Bonanza Mine is situated near the mountain ridge of Bonanza Peak. It's accessed by hiking about five steep miles on an old mining trail from Kennicott. Of all the mines you can hike to out of Kennicott, the Bonanza Mine is the most straightforward copper mine to hike to. It is a fantastic trip on the clear day, but it is tough. The trail gains 3,800 feet in elevation. </div> <bR> <div>       At the mine site, evidence of blasting, and old, unstable mining buildings and mining artifacts will boggle your mind. The tunnels themselves are closed off but many other remnants of mining work and life remain. </div> <bR> <div>      The view the entire way is breath-taking. You can see way down the Kennicott Glacier Valley and the all the way to the Chugach Mountains, plus some of the highest peaks in the Wrangells, including Mount Blackburn. Then if you continue hiking over the ridge beyond the mine site you can see the University Range in the St. Elias Mountains.  </div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1545 WIDTH="696"><div>  7-20-11</div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="what_to_do_with_your_amazing_photos_of"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>What To Do With Your Amazing Photos of Alaska</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="226a0c20.jpg" border=0 width="672" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>      What happens to all of those photographs my clients take on their trips to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park? I have been asking around, and it sounds like online scrapbooks are popular, as are regular scrapbooks and old-fashioned photo albums. Some people create a DVD about the trip. Some upload to Facebook, and some just save the photos on their hard drive.</div> <bR> <bR> <div>      One person said he selects the best photo from each trip he takes and uploads it to <A HREF="http://www.gallerydirect.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.gallerydirect.com"><U>GalleryDirect.com</U></A>. They will print the photos on canvas in any size requested. His finished photos are on display in his hallway. He said they sometimes run sales which makes the service more affordable. </div> <bR> <div>      I also met someone who puts on an End of the Year Slide Show production, inviting others over to view the presentation. </div> <bR> <bR> <div>      I once drove a photographer who took a lot of great photos of dogs out in McCarthy - including my dog George, lying in a mud puddle on Main Street after the 4th of July parade. He told me he wanted to create a "Dogs of McCarthy" calendar. If he ever does, it would be a great gift shop item in McCarthy. There are just not enough things for tourists to buy out here.  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="22289e70.jpg" border=0 width="649" height="487" ALT="George on the Rock Glacier" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1132 WIDTH="696"><div> 7-18-11</div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="today_s_collection"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>Today's Collection</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="21e905e0.jpg" border=0 width="656" height="350" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>      Clay surprised me today with about a dozen railroad spikes, a tire tool, and a gas cap. He picks up everything he finds in the road.  The items he retrives tell an interesting story.  Today, he said he found a total of 21 spikes. He said left half of them at the Chokosna Trading Post.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="22092ee0.jpg" border=0 width="658" height="494" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 604 WIDTH="696"><div> 7-17-11</div> <bR> <div> <B><U> <A NAME="the_coolest_stuff_people_have_told_me"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></U></B><B><U>Cool Stuff I Recently Discovered</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>      Okay one thing that has really changed since last year that has been amazing me is the number of people checking their email, and checking the weather, maps, and driving directions, on their cell phones, while riding the Anchorage to McCarthy shuttle.  "Any smartphone can do it," they tell me.  </div> <bR> <div>      Smart phone?  I live in a place where cell phones don't even call people half the time. Admitedly, I am out of the technological loop, but I thought I would note a few of these cool things I have learned about from my clients on recent shuttles. </div> <bR> <bR> <div>      Yesterday, these awesome guys who are rafting the Copper River to Cordova introduced me to the <A HREF="http://www.findmespot.com/en/ " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.findmespot.com/en/ "><U>Spot Satellite Communicator </U></A>- an affordable device that is tracking the entire route of their journey, from the airplane flight to Anchorage, to their float down the river. They said the device can be purchased or rented. The Spot Communicator allows them to send OK or Emergency messages to specific cell phone numbers and email addresses, and friends and loved ones back home can follow their "dot" on the internet. </div> <bR> <div>      On Spot's website, I noticed they also make an 'ap' that does the same thing with a person's smart phone, once the person buys a $99 annual subscription to their Satelite service. </div> <bR> <bR> <div>      I didn't realize it at the time but this is the same technology used in the EarthMate GPS unit someone showed me a few weeks ago. The GPS unit tracks GPS position, elevation, speed, and altitude, displays several maps of the area, and also allows the user to send text messages, using the Spot Satelite communication subscription. </div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Page 1   <A HREF="mccarthyroad_blog.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McCarthy Road Blog"><U>2 </U></A>  <A HREF="blog.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McCarthy Road, Alaska Blog"><U>3</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>