Monday, June 24, 2018

The most powerful of all, Zeus was god of the sky and the king of Olympus. His temper affected the weather, and he threw thunderbolts when he was unhappy. I am guessing Zeus was pretty grumpy today as weather south of Anchorage was a rainy mess and thus, I had to cancel my handgun shooting plans with Robert Krol. For months we had conspired so my disappointment stung.

Terry loves thrift store shopping so I figured it was a good time to indulge her. Afterwards, we stopped into a Chevron station for a reindeer and egg breakfast burrito. This was per recommendation from my son's girlfriend who had spent some time in Anchorage and Whittier in years past. Indeed it was tasty and boosted my spirits a tad.

Feeling touristy we visited the Anchorage street market and festival, Grizzly's and the Blue Moose. Of course, there is always time to grab a few geocaches as well.

In the afternoon we linked up with Steve Katkus and his magical four wheel drive truck for a railroad tour of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER). First, we checked out the new track for off loading military vehicles. The federal contract stipulated, "replace approximately 10,000 feet of 70, 75, and 90 pound rail line with 115 pound rail line. Construct approximately 9,500 feet of secondary rail line. Work includes at-grade crossings, signage, switches, and road markings. Construct a 14,800 square foot railcar offload shelter with catwalk and area lighting." This major upgrade enabled the military to transport vehicles for various training exercises as well as real world threats

Earlier this year soldiers assigned to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Alaska, performed railhead operations in sub-zero temperatures on here. Soldiers off-loaded their vehicles and equipment as part of Arctic Thrust, a short-notice rapid deployment exercise (click here for a Facebook video).

Steve took me to other locations which showed the removal of the last diamond crossing on the base, upgrade of vehicle/train overpasses and old Alaska Railroad boxcars. On occasion Steve would follow overgrown roads for what I call, "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". Of particular interest to Terry was a stop at a scenic lake for a boardwalk hike to view swans.

I told Steve I was particularly interested in some day getting a photo of a train crossing the Eagle River bridge which is located on JBER. Following a power pole road to Reeves he brought us to a location where a short strenuous hike would lead us to the river and then to the bridge. I took GPS coordinates at the location in hops of returning someday. When we exited the area we stumbled upon a large moose which we followed for several minutes.

New railcar offload tracks	New railcar offload tracks	Military vehicles
Military vehicles	Old offload tracks	1943 boxcar
1943 boxcar	1943 boxcar	1943 boxcar
Scenic boardwalk	Off road super truck	Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
Road to Eagle River bridge	Coordinates to get me to Eagle River bridge

We spent the evening with our hosts, Curt and Renee, first by taking them to dinner at Suite 100 Restaurant Bar & Lounge and then having talk time in their home. As we returned from dinner we once again spied a moose a mere 30 feet off the road.