Denali and REI, Two Biggies

 

(1) Mt Denali/McKinley from Parks Highway heading to Anchorage, only about 30 miles from the mountain.  This is from a mountain viewing rest stop where many folks gathered to view the "Tall One" which is what Denali means. Spectacular day for viewing and even locals are amazed at how clear the mountains are.  There is a large information board with the mountain range displayed.  There are a lot of really big mountains (9,000 feet and more) and one little one at 6600.  That teeny mountain is bigger than our grand Mt. Washington in NH. 

 

(2) The Anchorage REI, one of the top 5 biggest REI's. Busy, lots of gear but not the one little item I wanted.  I have to believe this is the furthest north and west of all the REI's.  Is Boston the most easterly? 

 

Disclaimer and excuse department.  (1) I have gone back to left justified as centering seems to do strange things to my post even though it looked great to me before hitting "publish."  (2)  Sometimes when I select a photo, I can't seem to deselect the choice.  That's why there are two caribou photos.  (3)  About typo's, I am not working under ideal conditions. 

 

 



"Rest Day" Adventures

 

(1) Bob and I had a delicious lunch in the Salmon Bake Restaurant where there is so much atmosphere it was practically falling down the hillside - very tilty and a tad run-down.  I had Alaska Fish Chowder (YUM), salmon sandwich, and Bob had (no surprise) a burger. 

 

(2) Bob had a perfect comment about the river here which has a glacial source. "It looks like liquid cement."  It was grey, looked thick, and was roiling and churning. there are crystal clear streams with mountain spring sources.

 

(3) Adventure of a different sort.  We were heading back to the campground and had to stop because a tanker was burning.  The truck was towing tandem tank trailers and the rear started to smoke and burn. The driver unhooked the front trailer from the rear and moved it away from danger.  Eventually fire fighters and equipment came and put out the smoldering tire or brakes. It was is on the only road so no alternate route; but the delay was only an hour or so.

 

(4) Bob and I hiked up a trail leaving the campground, The Antler Creek Trail.  We went up the steep hill to a sharp drop with views of the creek way down below. 

A few of the large animals plus geese

 

(1) This has been a grizzly trip.  We were lucky to have had several sightings of

grizzlies, at least 7: Mother with two cubs born January 2012, lone grizzly eating berries at a gravel stream, mother with 2 cubs born 2013.

(2-3) Beautiful male caribou. We saw many caribou and some moose including a huge male with impressive rack, cows and calves.  We also saw Dall Sheep, in two locations on small mountain meadows.  I do have photos - but picture in your mind a big green hill top with white dots.  Binocs faired better. 

(4) Greater White Front Geese.  Other bird sightings include Long Tail Ducks, Common Loon, several Willow Ptarmigan, Shrike, 6 Golden Eagle, Magpies.

 

A couple smaller animals that we saw were the Arctic Ground squirrel and marmots. Some of our photos are good for us to remember, but you have to look closely to see the subject of the photo.  Part of our grand success with animal sightings were the following: Luck; Jeremy's skill and experience; a fellow bus passenger. English from the accent, who had eagle eyes.  Other interesting mammals included the many shapes, sizes, and amazing outfits of fellow tourists, people gathered in family clusters, some with appropriate gear and clothing and some not so much.  Many languages heard along with happy voices and frustrated ones.  Want to stay in one of the private lodges at the end of the park road?  $500/night/per. OK, they pick you up at the train station, provide three meals a day, and shuttle you to hiking and viewing locations. 

 

KUDOS to my favorite travel agent.  Bob has done an amazing job planning and organizing this adventure.  He gets the chocolate!  :)

 

Scenery Photos

 

I have so many photos of scenes and animals that I will separate into two blogs.  Bob changed our bus tour to yesterday instead of today as we are running one day ahead.  It was such a smart decision!  Rainy this morning, and we can spend today organizing, resting.  The bus tour was 12 hours - 12 hours in a green sort of school bus on gravel park roads. I said that we could have flown to Hawaii in time.  It was long but we saw all the best that Denali could offer without spending a week taking tours and hikes.

(1) First photo, not in order taken, is a wide valley carved by glacier.  Other valleys can be narrow V shaped if carved by river action. 

(2) An unusually clear shot of Mt Denali aka McKinley.  Alaskans are more and more saying Denali altho' officially it's McKinley.  The contrast is not good in the photo as the mountain is white and in the sunlight. 

(3) The park road.  Bob now understands why sitting in the passenger seat and going around edgy roads, is scary for the non driver.  He was helping Jeremy drive with body English.  The Park road is 92 miles to the end at Kantishna.  We drove to the end and back in one long, jouncy day.  I am not sorry we went, but we were both exhausted. 

(4) Jeremy our driver.  He reminded of Son Jim.  Jeremy truly loves nature and Denali.  He is collecting wild berries and establishing a small nature preserve on his own property. He got as excited as we did at sightings.  He was funny also with a low key delivery.  He pointed out a tree, even stopped for a moment. "That tree looks like a dinosaur, can you picture it?" he says.  After that punch line pause, "We call it the tree saurus."

(5) The Muldrow Glacier.  The green lumpy band just below the darker blue mountains is the Muldrow Glacier.  It is covered with soil and plants, is 30 miles long and starts at the base of McKinley.  One winter (1956-7) it surged forward 4 miles.  OK, that's multi feet in one day.  I haven't done the actual math, but I figure you could get plowed under. The theory is that water under the ice lubricates and causes the surge every 50 years or so.  It is due and I want to be here to see it. 

 

 

 

 

Denali #1

 

We have arrived at Denali National Park.  Again, beautiful scenery but cloudy and smoky.  It does not bode well for viewing Mt McKinley.  We are hoping for many animal and bird sightings.  Tomorrow is a 12 (YIKES) hour bus ride through the park.  I will post bus post.  We are at a private campground, Denali RV Park.  The owners are friendly and accommodating, as we are a day ahead of schedule.  We both decided that one night in Fairbanks with the dancing girls just down the street was enough. 

 

We asked for a campsite not too far from the bath facilities and so we are right next to the office and close to the facilities as requested.  It's perfect for the two of us old fuddy duddies.  There will be no one next to us and it's a nice big site.  Bob and I talk about opening an old fuddy duddy campground: no barking dogs, no loud music, no kids racing around on assorted wheeled things. 

 

 

Feast of the Assumption

 

August 15.  Getting into the Chena River, Fairbanks, AK.  I have a tether in case the river had potholes, etc.,  what it had was mud sucking at my Crocs and making it impossible to walk, sort of quicksand-ish.  After my prayers for healing and blessings, I was glad of the rope as Bob pulled me free of the mire. 

My prayers for friends and family are for physical, emotional, spiritual wellbeing, prosperity  (Hope Mary does not mind that one) and healing in specific cases.

 

I told a former priest, William, about Sister Mary Brendon and the Feast of the Assumption.  He said that we don't hold to the Assumption. I asked what do we (Episcopalians) believe.  He said, "She died." I'll side with Bob's aunt. 

 

Love and Blessings, today and every day.

 

 

 

 

 

Church, Pipeline, Robertson River

 

(1) There are three delightful RC mission churches in the Yukon made from old Quonset huts.  We saw also Our Lady of the View. 

 

(2) The Alaska pipeline along Richardson Highway on our way to Fairbanks.  Amazing piece of construction. 

 

(3) The Robertson River with the broad floodplain and braided streams. 

 

There are several wildfires in the Tok to Fairbanks area.  Some large sections of the highway look foggy but with an acrid smell. We have been smelling the fires for about 24 hours. 

 

How cold does it get in Alaska?  EVERY car with AK plates has an electric plug hanging down from the engine.  We stopped by the U of AK large animal research center to see the muskox.  Wonderful, big soulful faces.  There is a wool yarn shop in Fairbanks that has a muskox skin draped over a table.  It looks like the real animal and has amazing thick wool, but they were out of muskox yarn.

 

Bob is very upset about the Golden North Motel in Fairbanks. It is seedy and tired and in not so great a location with the airport and highway near by, and just down the street a bar with genuine showgirls.  It was prepaid, of course, and not so cheap!  I tell him it's OK, it's one of those experiences that we will tell over and over (and it will get seedier with each telling).