Rainy Days – Wandering Dawgs

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 2 – Valdez and Hubbard Glacier

September 13, 2022Posted in Alaska, Glaciers, Rainy DaysTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, Hubbard Glacier, Valdez, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion, Yakatut Bay13 Comments

August 23, 2022 – More rain greeted us in Valdez, the northernmost ice-free port in Alaska. The town is located at the tip of a deep fjord in Prince William Sound with spectacular views of the Chugach Mountains. The southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline carrying oil from Prudhoe Bay is in Valdez.

Our tour for the day was aptly named “Valdez on your own.” A shuttle bus picked us up at the cruise ship terminal to take us around the town. Our goal was to wander around the small boat harbor near where we had camped in our RV in August, 2013. We enjoyed wandering around looking at boats, browsing in some of the shops and eating a snack of garlic-rosemary fries at the Potato where we enjoyed talking to our server about the town. She told us the RV park is still there and told us where to find it.

Our shuttle ride back to the cruise ship dock took us near the RV park. As we drove through town our driver pointed out points of interest. Back at the cruise ship dock we wandered around the to see a monument dedicated to the men and women who built the Trans-Alaska Pipeline from 1969 to 1977. Another interesting sculpture has a giant octopus attacking a lighthouse.

Back on board ship we returned to our stateroom to find a bottle of champagne to celebrate our 52nd anniversary courtesy of the Viking Orion crew. We took the champagne with us to dinner to enjoy with our meal. We were surprised after dinner when our server brought us a cake to add to our celebration!

We had limited time to spend in Valdez because of the cruise ship schedule. There is a lot more see and do there. If you would like to read about our 2013 Valdez adventures please visit these posts: Waterfalls, Glaciers and Salmon in Valdez , Wildlife and Glacier Cruise from Valdez , and Bear Sighting on our last day in Valdez.

August 24, 2022 – The weather didn’t cooperate for our scenic cruising day. Rain and fog kept us from seeing much scenery so we mostly relaxed and enjoyed being on the ship. When the fog lifted for a few minutes I was able to capture a few pictures.

We were sailing through Yakatat Bay towards the Hubbard Glacier, the largest tidewater glacier in North America. The glacier is more that six miles wide where it meets the ocean and up to 400 feet tall.

As we approached the glacier we ventured out on the deck in the rain hoping for a better look. We were cold and wet but when we finally got close enough for a good view the weather cleared for a few minutes.

Next up – A new port and more wildlife sightings.

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Indiana

February 17, 2017February 17, 2017Posted in Indiana, Rainy Days, RVing, Wandering around AmericaTagged Elkhart, RV repairs, thunderstorm15 Comments

State 12:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

Indiana

Indiana became the 19th state on December 11, 1816 and the capital is Indianapolis.

On our one and only trip to Indiana we spent a night in Elkhart, Indiana to get some work done on our refrigerator and to do some sightseeing. Right after we got set up at the campsite the sky turned black and the rain started coming down in buckets. We ran inside the RV and turned on the tv to discover we were under a severe thunderstorm watch. Luckily, the storm only lasted a short while but by the time it was over it was too late to do anything except eat dinner. The next morning we had to continue on our way after getting the refrigerator repaired.

The storm and refrigerator repairs prevented us from visiting the RV Museum in Elkart or going to South Bend to visit the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Even though we couldn’t spend much time in Indiana I enjoyed seeing the country side as we traveled across the state.

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois

Good Eats, Hot Sauce, and rain in Cajun Country

March 13, 2015November 23, 2015Posted in Birds, Louisiana, Parks, Rainy Days, Restaurants, Road Trip, RV Parks, RVing, Tourist AttractionsTagged Andouille, Avery Island, Breaux Bridge, Cormorants, crawfish etoufee, Great Blue Heron, gumbo, Poche, Poches Fish N Camp, Snowy Egret, Tabasco11 Comments

After a rough ride traveling west in Louisiana on the worst section of I-10 in the United States we arrived at Poche’s Fish N Camp in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana for a couple of days. The campsites are arranged around a large fishing pond lined with Cypres trees. Most of the sites have a paved pad, full hookups, and WiFi. There are several ponds for fishing, a clubhouse, swimming pool, and laundry. The staff was great. Many thanks to them for recommending Fun in the Sun RV Repair to repair our heater and many thanks to the repairman who came out in the rain the same day we called him and got it fixed.

It rained off and on the whole time we were there so we couldn’t do too much exploring in the area. I had to do my bird watching at the campground. A Snowy Egret walked along the pond right behind our campsite in the afternoons and Cormorants and ducks were in the water every day. A Great Blue Heron even made an appearance.

Office at Poche’s Fish N Camp

Clubhouse at Poche’s Fish N Camp

Our site from across the pond

Campground at Poche’s Fish N Camp

Ducks on the pond

Picture taken through our back window of Snowy Egret behind the camper

Great Blue Heron

The rain couldn’t stop us from enjoying some amazing Cajun feasts! Crawfish etoufee, rice dressing (dirty rice), slaw, fried catfish, fried shrimp, chicken and sausage gumbo, Boudin, Andouille sausage and more! We ate several delicious meals at Poche’s Market and Restaurant. Their market has a large selection of sausages, meats and seasonings so I filled the freezer with Andouille sausage and Boudin to take with us and now my pantry has some of their seasoning mix and File powder.

It’s so good we had three meals here!

Poche’s Cajun Cuisine

Our meal at Poche’s – Crawfish Etoufee, Dirty Rice and Slaw – Sooooo good!

A visit to the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island was a must see on this trip. Henry is a hot sauce aficionado and Tabasco is a staple on our table along with the salt and pepper. We visited the factory 30 years ago when our kids were young and we both have memories of walking into the aging room with the aroma of the sauce so strong that most of the other people in the tour got out of there as fast as they could. Not Henry! He loved it! Unfortunately, they no longer take the tours through that room.

The sauce is aged in barrels that were first used to age Jack Daniels Whiskey. We watched a short video and then watched original Tabasco sauce being bottled and labeled before browsing in the museum. We had our first taste of Boudin sausage (yummy and spicy) from a food truck and spent a few dollars in the gift shop before heading back to Breaux Bridge. A stop at Walmart for some necessities and we were back at camp in time to watch the rain come down the rest of the day.

Avery Island, Louisiana

Visitor’s Center at the Tabasco Factory

Can we take this bottle home?

The world’s best known hot sauce

Even Queen Elizabeth uses Tabasco Sauce

Waiting for the tour to begin

The sauce is aged in barrels that were used to make Jack Daniels Whiskey

Original Tabasco sauce going down the assembly line

The peppers are made into a mash

Lunch was delicious Boudin from the Tabasco food truck

Rainy days in South Carolina

April 21, 2014June 17, 2015Posted in Rainy Days, Road Trip, RVing, South Carolina, State ParksTagged Lake Wateree State Park4 Comments

On our way back to Georgia we ventured down 10 miles of country roads to Lake Wateree State Park near Winnsboro, South Carolina. Despite being rained on most of the time we enjoyed our stay. The campground was almost full with many families and boaters. All of the campsites had large paved pads and many of the campsites were large enough for an RV, vehicle, and boat. A nice place to kick back and relax before returning home.

Lake Wateree

Dock next to the boat ramp at Lake Wateree

Lake Wateree

Looking at the picnic area from the dock

Along the edges of Lake Wateree behind our campsite

Day 56: Rainy Day in Denali

July 13, 2013August 22, 2016Posted in Alaska, National Parks, Rainy Days, WildflowersTagged Denali National Park, Teklanika River

Day 56: Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Our plan for the day was to ride the bus up to the Polychrome Overlook and take a hike. When we awoke to a steady rain we decided to wait to see if it would clear up. The rain continued all day so we took a couple of short hikes around the campground instead.