Author: Wandering Amerrickans

August 22 – We Really Are Crazy

Early morning weather report (6:00 AMish) sunny skies; by 10:00 starting to turn overcast.

We didn’t make it out the door until 10:30, and we didn’t finish our morning grub from Conscious Coffee until 11:00. As we drove towards the junction, Denali and all the rest of the Alaska Range that was within eyeshot, was out again in almost clear view.

So what does a car full of crazies do who are supposed to be heading south to Anchorage to catch their flight? They turn north… AGAIN! 30 miles later we pull back into the South Viewpoint parking lot for the fifth time in two days to only be disappointed that Denali was hiding again. I think that from far away the clouds are lower but as you get closer like the South Viewpoint is (only 40 miles away as the crow flies), it covers the mountain. In any case, we hadn’t minded the drive and the view was still breathtaking.

As we walked back to the car, we all agreed that this had been the most challenging of all our trips weather wise. Billy quipped, “Just think, if it hadn’t stopped raining, we would never know what we had missed.”

“So,” I retorted, “the sun finally coming out, royally screwed us!” Pretty much we all confirmed. Oh well… We got to see Denali!

You all might wonder what the big deal is about just seeing a mountain. But the mountains bring us peace, they ground us and remind us of just how minuscule we are in this world. They are Jenny’s favorite place to be – more than a beach or a lake or the desert. That was why it was so rough having missed so much of the landscape – because everywhere you look in Alaska, there are mountains.

When we finally headed south the rain began to fall. We dropped the car off to which as soon as we pulled in the guys commented on how dirty it was. Well, if they only knew where this car had been!

In 18 days of driving, we covered exactly 2,785 miles of Alaskan roads; when you circle the area we traveled on a map of Alaska, it is but a very small portion of the state. We used the word immense a lot to describe Alaska and it is no understatement. While planning the trip, looking at a map made places seem so close together, this isn’t even remotely true. Distances are great and traveling is slow going if for no other reason than you are trying to absorb the scenery around you. Of course the RV brigades, constant summertime road construction. and rough roads also do a lot to slow you down.

One of the most amazing things we noticed in all the distance we covered is how almost all of it was untouched whether to development or to exploitation of resources- minus the pipeline, of course. Much of our drives were spent in comfortable silence, just simply taking it all in. Frankly, I think we were stunned by the vastness and the untrodden terrain that surrounded us.

We made lots of observations during our trip. We have come to the conclusion that Alaskans must sleep with only one pillow (we have eight on our bed at home) because no matter where we stayed, that’s all we were allotted. 18 wheelers any other place are big in Alaska they are more like 26 wheelers. Alaskans are clearly a tough, self reliant people who are not entitled in the least bit, I assume because otherwise they’d die waiting around for something they think they deserve! They take ownership of property very seriously; there are no trespassing and keep out signs everywhere (I think our neighbors might think they are in Alaska). Alaskans have staunchly conservative values and look to the Lord a lot for guidance (we felt a bit removed from this one as we tend to look to Google for help [I can’t tell you how many times, in the midst of the silence, someone would ponder something out loud and then someone else would answer, “Google it.” Of course that only worked on the rare occasions we had service]). Alaskans are either a very friendly or most unfriendly lot – we found the prior to be more common but when it was the latter, it was extreme.

We all also found it fascinating that in these wild lands, we didn’t see nearly as many animals as we would have thought. We concluded that they have so much space to roam they aren’t locked in by boundaries and thus rarely make contact. Our final animal count was: 1 hitchhiker from Fairbanks, 7 grizzlies, 2 black bears, 4 moose, 8 caribou, 1 flock of ptarmigan, 2 red fox, 1 Canadian lynx, 1 snowshoe hare and nearly a dozen sea otters. Not too bad at all.

Yesterday, we received a message from Alaska airlines to get to the airport three hours ahead as lines were long. When we got there, we walked right up to the check in counter and right up to the TSA officer- oh well. I would have gone and checked out all the float planes at the Lake Hood plane basin but instead we had a front row seat watching 747 after 747 landing and taking off as Anchorage is the fourth busiest cargo airport in the world! It was actually very entertaining to help us kill time. We even watched as a flight aborted its landing only to hit it the second go around.

The scenery on our way to Seattle was marvelous, with the most resplendent views from a flight I might have ever seen. We had an clear views of the entire Alaskan coastline, peak after stunning peak. Jenny and I commented on the size of the mountains realizing that even from 37,000 feet they looked huge, yet we noted they were all smaller than Denali – now that’s perspective!

There is no doubt we will all return to Alaska and while Billy would gladly return to where the grayling can be found, Jenny and I would love to go even more remote – and yes, I realize that that would involve a bush plane or two.

Alaska certainly drew us in. We really felt so very comfortable there, almost at home. Billy said the ruggedness and remoteness reminded him of Greer- I can see some similarities but they are really not on par with one another. I like the fact Alaska lends itself to the need to be self sufficient. There are very few whiners here; it really marches to its own drummer when compared to the lower 48. Its nickname as The Last Frontier suits it well; it gives no illusion of something it isn’t- we like that, we really really like that…

August 21- Merci Henri

First things first- We woke to a blue domer, just as Jenny had predicted. Departure day and it was gorgeous. Go figure.

We also woke to chaos as Hurricane Henri was closing in on Connecticut and both us and him were scheduled to be arriving at the same time tomorrow – not good! We tossed around ideas on what to do- just go with it and hope we can make it in? go with it knowing we could get stuck in Seattle or Chicago? Book new flights out for tonight? But as we discussed it and we realized we had the most gorgeous day of all, we had no desire to go sit in an airport stuck when we could just take the delay ahead of time, just in case, and stay on an extra day in Alaska. We would be able to make sure we have flights that shouldn’t get cancelled and roll with it. So, we rebooked our flights and will fly Anchorage to Seattle (spend the night) and then on to to Philadelphia where we need to rent a car and drive home – not the best but better than the more than likely alternative ( at least what the weather people were making it out to be).

We packed up and headed out not knowing exactly what we would be doing until we dropped out of the woods and came to the first clearing – audible gasps followed by some, “Holy sh@ts!” Then when the shock settled we couldn’t stop talking about how incredible the view was – the mountains clear as day were right there! When we checked in yesterday, the owner said, “I wish it wasn’t so cloudy so you could see the view.” Yeah, yeah I know…Now I know what view she was talking about!

It didn’t take long for the “if onlys” to start followed by a bit of a depression at all the time we had put in driving all over to have such limited views. But it also didn’t take long for Jenny to ask if we thought Denali was out too. And it took even less time for us to point the red baron in that direction, call the hotel we had stayed at before and hit the gas pedal hard when he confirmed not only a room but that Denali was out!

What, we thought, is another couple hundred miles detour, if we could get to see Denali -remember it was the one thing Jenny had wanted to see before we got here and had eluded us for the most part.

When the great one first came into view, the car went wild. We were giddy with excitement as I put the pedal to the metal. It was really overwhelming to finally see it and amazing that at over 100 miles away it took up our entire viewpoint!

As we raced north, we slowly watched the clouds coming in and start blocking the mountain. By the time we reached the Denali State Park South Viewpoint there was little left to be seen. We sat for a long time watching to see if maybe the clouds might move while coming up with a game plan to increase our chances of seeing it. And here’s where we went a little crazy.

We decided to go 30 miles more to the North Viewpoint but we didn’t have enough gas to get back to our destination to do that so we traveled south 18 miles to the nearest gas station, turned around went 18 miles north, had a big old black bear cross the highway right in front of us, stopped at the South Viewpoint again to see if it popped out, parts were visible but not all of it. We then drove the additional 30 miles north to the North Viewpoint where we saw nothing, we couldn’t even figure out where it should be with all the clouds. Turned around and drove south 30 miles to the South Viewpoint again, still only parts were visible. We then drove 50 miles to Talkeetna to check in and find dinner.

Wait times at the sit down restaurants were running upwards of 1 1/2 hours so we ordered tacos from the taco truck, grabbed a six pack of beer from the liquor store and sat at a picnic table chowing down on some delicious grub! We all agreed that we can say we saw Denali, even if it wasn’t from as close as we would have liked.

We started chatting with a family that was dining the same way as us. They were in a camper and were asking about where we had been, where we would recommend etc. Nice family from Minneapolis who we ended up giving our bear spray to as they hadn’t secured any as of yet – not such a good idea around these parts!

As we were getting up to leave, we commented on how perfectly clear the skies were now. Billy walked ahead with the family to hand off the bear spray while Jenny and I grabbed ice cream cones. While we were waiting in line, Billy texted that he could see the mountain. He got the car, picked us up and we drove 1/4 mile down the road to the viewpoint in Talkeetna where indeed, Denali was out!

As we sat looking at it, savoring our ice cream cones, Jenny turned to us and said, “We have to go to the South Viewpoint! We have to go! It will only be two hours round trip. We have to!” “Well…What else do we have to do,” I said. “Let’s go!” And this is where we went nuts…we jumped in the car and took off, stopping to grab a small bottle of bourbon, a bag of ice and two empty slushy cups. The lady told Jenny, “Welcome to the 30% club!” Only 30% of the people ever get to see Denali, so we were considering ourselves lucky!

On Jenny drove, arriving to the Viewpoint by 9:30PM, the sun still up and the mountain sitting on her throne of majesty for all to bow in awe at. The scene was spectacular and we sat there while the few remaining clouds slowly dissipated. After 30 minutes or so, we decided to see what the view was like up a trail that was off to the right.

Up we walked, hollering out to the bears, especially since we had given away our only line of defense. When we crested the hill, we all just about cried at the view. Unreal! Wow! Holy Cow! Mercy…

We sat and watched in utter disbelief that we were finally seeing not only 20,310 foot Denali, but a huge swath of the Alaska Range, as far as the eye could see, pretty much cloud free! As we and a few others sat in silence, marveling at some of Mother Nature’s finest work, a lady calmly, quietly said, “Look, there are three bears down there.” Sure enough down along the riverside we could see three bears, two cubs running wild and their mama!

Jenny, very calmly, very observantly noticed, “We are sitting here, looking not only at Denali, amazing on its own, but we are watching grizzlies too. Can it get any better than this?” “Welcome to what must be the 10%,” I responded, “Because honestly…what are the chances?”

So, merci Henri, for taking aim at Connecticut. Without you, we would not have seen her; we would have left completely defeated, instead we hit a high note, a super high note, on what should have been our departure day. Merci beaucoup Henri…merci!

August 20 – 250 Feet of Fun

Well… morning weather report brought rainy skies back. Such a bummer.

This morning we packed up and started the drive back towards Anchorage, with our destination being along the route at an area called Glacier View. Leaving Wrangell allowed for a bit more scenery as the ceiling wasn’t as low as it had been on our arrival day, so we were pleased for that. We again marveled at the fact we passed 3 campers and maybe 4 cars on the 60 mile park road – just so crazy!

We made a quick stop for gas and ice. While I was parked, looking down reading the map, someone backed into us. ARGH! It turned out to be an Israeli national who had bought his own car while he was here. The rental car sustained minor damage and after checking with them on what we should do, we continued on down the road.

We made it to our planned stop with about 30 minutes to kill, almost enough time for Billy to try and talk his way out of the activity or try and convince Jenny she didn’t need to do it for his sake.

I had signed him up to zip line with Jenny today. It was only two zips but the second one was to be a doozy. I have zip lined a handful of other times and had fun each time but this one seemed a bit over the top, so to speak. Besides, I did class IV rapids with Jenny; it was Billy’s turn to do some adventures with her!

After getting rigged with protection gear, harnesses and the piece of equipment they are suspended from, we made our way to the first drop off point (they let me ride along since the tour wasn’t full). The weather was threatening rain, but held off up to this point.

The first line required a climb up a tower that you then launch from, sending you through trees, maybe 30 feet off the ground. Billy volunteered to go first – having no issues whatsoever; Jenny followed behind. There were six other people zipping, including a hot shit 80 year old woman!

The second and final line was where I had drawn the line. It starts from a hut 15 feet back from the edge of a cliff, 250 feet high. Seconds after take off you clear the cliff’s edge and are suspended over the river valley, flying along at speeds up to 60 miles an hour, for half a mile. The lines are tandem so Billy and Jenny were able to go together, at the same time.

Billy ended up having a blast; I knew he would! The entire time took only about one hour and when it was done, we headed to our cabin for the last night in Alaska.

This little cabin was in the woods on a piece of property the owner’s parents had homesteaded. We loved chatting with guy, born and raised in Alaska, and hearing some stories about how they live and how everything there came to be.

We cooked a yummy dinner and had a Yahtzee throw down. We were also pleased to see the skies cleared. We joked how fitting it would be that the day we leave, will be the best day of the trip, weather wise!

Aug 19- Finally!

Morning weather report… guess what? Skies were clearing!!! There was no rain (I bet you didn’t think I was gonna say that)!

Our morning was a bit chaotic. Even though I had said out loud to my crew last night that our activity was to be from 9-3 today, none of us paid attention; I said we needed to leave at the same time as yesterday’s plan for a 9:30 meeting. It wasn’t until 8:15 that I reread the email that said the activity was from 9-3 and that they would meet us at 8:30! SH@T!!! That was in 12 minutes and we weren’t dressed etc, and we had a solid 10 minute drive to the parking lot… Needless to say our morning started off a bit stressful!

The driver, Zach, was very patiently waiting, as was the rest of the van full of people. I made our apologies and off we went 4 plus miles north of McCarthy to Kennecott to get fitted for crampons for our hike today on Root Glacier.

Kennecott Mines National Historical Monument is super super cool. It is operated by the National Park Service and is located in Wrangell St Elias National Park. It started off in 1900 after the discovery of copper ore. At its height there were 76 buildings, many of which are still standing. There is one hotel there and a few guide operators as it is the jumping off point for many of the backcountry excursions and day treks.

Our group today consisted of the three of us, Dale and Claire, a couple in their 60s from Cincinnati and Jan, a 68 year old Belgian guy who recently underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

We set out on foot from the center of Kennecott, immediately passing the historic mine buildings. All the buildings are in a varying state of existence- some completely preserved, some in stabilization preservation, some succumbing to the harsh Alaskan elements.

After exiting the historic sight, we were immediately struck by the vast moraine field – the same one we kayaked next to yesterday, but today we had gained elevation and could actually see just how immense it is. The scene was surreal, like an exaggerated 3-d drawing – like nothing we have ever seen before.

The hike to the edge of the glacier alone was beyond spectacular. The views were stunning, and we were all so excited to finally see some of the mountain peaks surrounding us. The trail tracked along the edge of the valley until it took a turn and headed out towards the glacier, zigzagging down the debris field left on the sides (lateral moraine).

The trail was 2.4 miles down to where we donned our crampons to start the trek across the glacier. We have trekked on a glacier one other time, in Patagonia, so at least we were familiar with walking with crampons on – walk like a cowboy with your feet further apart than normal, shorten your stride, and always point your toes uphill or downhill – no sidestepping.

Root Glacier is enormous – full of crevasses, moulins and blue pools. The glacier undulates reminding one of endless sand dunes. Parts of it are covered in a thin layer of fine rocks and are parts are white or blue. There are streams running over the top, the perfect place to refill your water bottle and I can assure you, there is nothing as delicious as fresh glacier water!

Zach did a great job leading us up and over the glacier. There were a few challenging sections that Billy later said he almost opted out of but after the other folks made it, he did it. Frankly, I was beyond impressed with all of their athletic capabilities.

All told, we trekked about 1.5 mile on the glacier itself, spending about 2.5 hours out there. We all agreed the experience here far exceeded our experience in Patagonia. Here, we were able to walk relatively freely, not following the leader in a single file; it was just our group out there the majority of the time versus group after group; and the surrounding scenery was more spectacular here. All in all, a fabulous day, and the weather finally cooperated!

On our return trip we were free to ascend to the rim trail at our own pace. Billy and Jenny led the charge while I followed closely behind taking pictures. At one point, I looked down the switchbacks to see the rest of the group stopped and Jan checking his heat rate via his neck pulse. I offered to come down and take his pack, even though I was wearing one myself, but he said no. When I caught up to Billy and Jenny and relayed what had happened, Jenny, who was not carrying a pack, headed back down the trail to offer the same as me but Jan wouldn’t let her carry it for him either. I tell you what, our group members were impressive. They trudged on right behind us, bad knees, surgically repaired arteries and all!

We grabbed lunch at the same spot as yesterday and it was even better, or maybe we had worked up an appetite but whatever the case we certainly enjoyed it again.

By the time we started for the pedestrian bridge, the skies had cleared even more and we could make out the tops of a few peaks we hadn’t seen earlier. We beelined to the bridge, the best vantage point, and we’re thrilled to see almost the entire Root Glacier and a good part of its mountain peak staring back at us.

Back in the cabin, Jenny and I were sitting in the living room, while Billy took a little nap, when we both quickly looked up at each other. “You feel that?” I asked her. She nodded yes. “Earthquake,” I said. “No way,” she replied, “maybe someone just hit the cabin.” I laughed, “There is nobody out here!” Nope, definitely an earthquake. Google confirmed it about 20 minutes later – a 4.1 ( small by earthquake standards).

As the evening progressed and the skies cleared more, Jenny and I drove back down to the bridge to see if the last peaks above the glacier had cleared. They hadn’t but the peaks of all the other surrounding mountain ranges had. We kept stopping the car to look out at the sheer beauty we saw. We have traveled to a lot of places in the world but never ever have I seen anything like Alaska; and now that the full scope of just this one area has come to light, we want to see more. I

told Jenny we might just have to come back to Alaska. She turned to me and said, “Oh.. I’m coming back.” “When?” I asked. “I don’t know exactly,” she pondered “but I’ll be back.”

August 18 – Weather Be Damned

Morning weather report… exactly the same…

One of Jenny’s requests for our trip to Alaska was to get remote – easily done in Alaska if you are happy to hop in a bush plane; not so easily done if you avoid them like the plague. So, since we all know I fall into the latter category I got us remote on our trip to McCarthy. On the two hour ride in we passed only a few other cars. So the best way to experience the remoteness was to get out and experience being here.

After coffee and cereal we hustled out to meet our guide for the day’s adventure. Today we would be doing a 1/2 day tandem kayak with St Elias Guides, on a glacial lake fed by the Kennicott Glacier. We drove the last three miles to the end of the road where we parked and walked across the footbridge, the only real way for tourists to get into town. Years ago you had to pull yourself across in a handcart but the bridge is certainly a bit better!

Our guide Clint got us outfitted in a neoprene layer, over which we could use our own expedition clothing. Billy had forgotten to bring his rain pants but Jenny and I had ours. He also gave us rubber boots and gloves to wear- none of which were remotely warm!

We did a small hike up to the lake where there were two inflatable tandem kayaks waiting. We warned Clint about Jenny’s canoeing history at 2 for 2 with flipping; he said there are four rules for kayaking, rules 1,2 and 4 are – don’t flip the canoe. Rule 3 is have fun. I told him we are rule followers and as such Jenny had every intention to not flip the kayak. I then volunteered to tandem with him!

The kayaks were a bit tricky to maneuver as they tend to want to go in circles. Jenny and Billy did a great job with theirs, considering it was a new experience. We crossed the lake, steering clear of where it empties to become the raging Kennicott River and kayaked along the terminal moraine of Kennicott Glacier. The glacier starts on top of Alaska’s 5th highest mountain peak, Mount Blackburn, some 16,390 feet up, and has its terminus just about at the town of McCarthy.

As we kayaked along, debris was falling down along the ice and into the lake. As we looked 60’ up the glacial wall, we hoped the monstrous glacial erratics didn’t come loose and tumble down – those would certainly create a small tsunami! We have seen glaciers before in Patagonia and watched the ice valve but we had never seen the process of glaciation at work. The crazy thing is we were really kayaking on the glacier as the melt waters filled in a low spot on the terminal moraine, creating a lake, so the glacier was under us. It was so cool;

The whole experience was otherworldly but it was quite cold and somehow, Billy was drenched in his boots and under his borrowed rain pants – a not too comfortable situation. So, we called it quits a bit early and headed for lunch at Potato, one of only a few places to get food in McCarthy.

The place was great, with a huge beer selection and amazing food. We really enjoyed this local filled joint as we tried to dry out. McCarthy has a year round population of 28 people (and I thought Greer was small); but it swells to a few hundred in the summer. We chatted with a girl who had just graduated from William & Mary and came to live in and work in McCarthy for summer – her first time in Alaska. It is a really neat place – lots of history, a totally chill vibe, majestic scenery, and a real sense of community. Both Jenny and I said we could easily do it for a summer; Billy said, “No way.”

After lunch, we walked around town, taking photos and loving all the character there is here. The rain stopped briefly and for a split second, we could see our shadows. We stopped into the historical museum and marveled at the hardy pioneers and how they managed to survive out here.

The running theme of our trip seems to be…”just imagine what it would look like with blue skies…” Today was certainly one of those days but thankfully the weather didn’t completely wreck it-the drizzly, foggy, chilly weather actually added to the mystique of it all!

Following a bit of exploring, hot showers and dry clothes sounded appealing. We drove back to the cabin and hung out for a bit. Jenny wanted to go back to town to the saloon and listen to the live music that was posted on flyers in town and was on the calendar for this evening. We obliged her and forwent our planned dinner in to check out something local.

On our drive back in, I spotted a creature running across the road. It took me a few seconds but I realized it was a lynx! Such a cool spy – they look like they have a cat’s head on a small bear’s body.

Seeing as it is a small town, the crowd was minimal but the guy was good. Dinner was acceptable but we were able to sit outside, the beer was cold and the company (for Billy especially) was good – so that made up for it

A few correction points: Wrangell St Elias National Park is also a Preserve and it is over 13,000,000 acres. There is one other road access point all the way in the north

August 17 – Detouring

We made it through the night – With Jenny and I snuggled tightly together in a twin bed, window open all night and brave Billy taking the room the mouse ran out of!

Morning weather report- Windy, very cold, clouds blocking everything but not raining (there is the plus side). Coming in last night, we had the faintest, faintest outline of the mountains with their snow-covered caps and oh how marvelous they looked. This morning- nothing!

We made a few pit stops as we headed south – gas, grocery store, coffee, etc. We had no plans but to make our way across the Edgarton Highway (aka the MCarthy Road) to stay for the next three nights to spend time in Wrangell- St Elias National Park, the largest of the parks in our NPS at 12,000,000 plus acres (twice the size of Denali).

We had talked to one of the owners at the lodge we stayed at last night about maybe driving to Valdez before heading to McCarthy. She emphatically said, “Go to Valdez.” I told her that I had read it is the most beautiful drive in all of Alaska, and that I had read that it in multiple places. She told me that that is so and again said, we should go to Valdez, even if the clouds are low.

Continuing south, we pulled into the park headquarters and saw something we have never seen at one before- a totally empty parking lot save for one car. We got out to at least take a look at some displays as we assumed the visitor center was closed but there behind a window was a park ranger. How crazy is that? One of our national parks at 11:00 AM and the parking lot was empty. All three times we had to park at Denali, there were only a handful of spots available. We chatted with the ranger a bit and then asked him about Valdez. He also said we should go to Valdez, so what did we do? we decided to drive to Valdez – a mere 90 mile detour (each way as it was a turnaround detour).

Again, this is the way we roll, changing plans on a whim, driving where our interests take us and never hesitating to take a detour if there is something we enjoy on the other side (In January we made a last-minute 500 mile detour to Houston to see some friend). So in the grand scheme of things, a 90 mile detour to see Alaska’s most beautiful drive was a no brainer.

The low lying clouds held on for about half the way, to the point we did quickly discuss just turning around – not much sense detouring to see the most beautiful drive if we couldn’t see much but we held our course. There were intermittent breaks in visibility and the rain which had also started, at one point we were in some pretty thick fog but as we descended from Thomson Pass, the rain stopped, clouds were breaking and the sun was trying its hardest but visibility above 1,000 feet or so was almost nonexistent.

Ok, so the drive. I am sure you are curious as to whether or not it was worth it. The answer, a resounding definitely! It was spectacular! Prior to the Thompson Pass we were getting scenes of Ireland and Iceland, after the pass it was like Hawaii with hundreds of waterfalls pouring down out of the soaring cliffs. Truly breathtaking scenery!

We headed for lunch, since we never had breakfast, after which we made a run to the brewpub (something we have done in almost every town to get some local beers to go). Jenny then suggested we go check out the salmon hatchery to see if we could spot seal lions or otters.

We drove around the head of Port Valdez to the east side where Solomon Gulch Hatchery is located. Holy Cow, we were blown away by the scene we watched unfolding in front of our eyes – thousands upon thousands upon thousands of salmon were either struggling to make their way upstream, stuck in side inlets of the river and slowly dying or were already lying dead being feasted on by thousands upon thousands of seagulls. Honestly, probably the wildest natural phenomena I have ever witnessed – totally surreal!

We couldn’t help but sit and watch and listen (the shrieking of the gulls was insane), for quite some time. The chaos and madness of it all was somehow, a bit addicting.

Once we were finally able to pull ourselves away from the macabre scene, we began our return trip north. The weather had lifted in some parts and even the tops of the mountains were clear- a sight we haven’t seen in more than a week. But, that was not to last long.

While we were in Valdez, I had called our hosts for the upcoming three nights, and they said it had been raining since last night and was forecasted to continue for the next week… great. With that news, we were all even happier we had gone to Valdez because at least it wasn’t raining and we had some views, if not limited.

Scenes from around Valdez:

Our drive along the Edgarton from the Richardson was pretty uneventful but interesting in the fact that it was the first time in all the miles we have been that we saw any farming- in this case cows.

The end of the Edgarton brought us to the beginning of the 60 mile McCarthy Road, the only road into Wrangell-St Elias. Again, most rental car companies do not allow travel on this road, keeping most tourists out. Actually the sign at the beginning of the road is an additional deterrent to a lot of tourists I imagine; we cracked up and kept on driving.

The drive in was not a particularly stunning one. Now maybe if it wasn’t pouring, and we could see something above the tree tops it would be but again, we saw nothing. It took us two hours to travel the 60 mile, pothole rutted, washboard of a road, arriving at our cabin at 8:00.

Scenes from our drive:

The cabin was very nice with a great big wrap around deck overlooking what we assume is a beautiful vista in the distance. Jenny whipped up some scrumptious tacos for dinner and we all hit the hay hard!

August 16- Solitude

This morning’s weather was as bad as yesterday plus a whole lot of wind to go with it. Back in April, I scored a lottery pass to Denali to be able to drive our car the extra 15 miles into the park that is normally not open to the public, but seeing as the weather was even worse and there was no hope to see the mountain, we decided to blow it off.

We had a full day in front of us anyhow so the extra time would come in handy. We made a quick stop for some sweets, then on to a place that was recommended by George to grab sandwiches to eat in the car- all was delicious!

Our drive today was across the 130 mile Denali Highway, with the first 110 miles being dirt. This is a road that is off limits to most rental cars unless, like us, you rent from a local dealer that allows it. It was the beginning of hunting season and we had been warned that there would be a lot of local traffic but there was nary a car the whole way.

The good news is the rain stopped but the low clouds never fully lifted. What we could see of the scenery was beyond magnificent; it truly is incredible to have mountains completely surrounding you but to have it that way nor 100 plus miles at the least!

We stopped at one point to let Billy fish one of the picture perfect streams that flowed through the vast tundra. Within a bit less than an hour, he caught three large graylings.

The entire 130 mile crossing took us almost six hours, with stops, including the second highest mountain pass in Alaska at 4,086’; it was very nice for me as Jenny drove almost the entire way.

(Scenes from along the highway):

After exiting the Denali Highway, we got caught up in some of the most massive highway construction projects I have ever seen. The Richardson Highway that runs north to south on the east side of Anchorage was quite incredible. As far as we could see, there were pine forests. And for the first time, we saw the Trans- Atlantic pipeline which runs 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean- a wild scene to see this massive oil pipeline snaking through the forests.

When I was trying to make hotel reservations for this night, there was a lot that went into the consideration. There were very few options available that were within reason as far as time, distance and covid requirements. Most of the places I tried were closed for this year, so I ended up booking at a historic lodge that actually got fairly decent reviews, but I warned Billy and Jenny that I was quite nervous for the stay.

We checked in at the bar where we met the owners and grabbed a basic meal. The owners couldn’t have been nicer and we really enjoyed talking with them. He was an Army officer stationed here before they bought the lodge. The place is now for sale as they are planning on moving back to the Fort Worth Area.

When we got to our cabin, it was certainly a throwback to at least the 1950s.

All was good, we could deal with the spiders, the lack of an operating smoke detector and the generally more-than-well-worn feeling but it all came to an abrupt halt for me when a mouse ran across my path- an Alaskan size mouse. Anyone who knows me knows, I don’t do rodents- they carry a million diseases; Billy always jokes we should invest in the expanding foam spray company because I am constantly filling gaps to try and stop them from entering my homes.

Well sh@t… 11:00 at night – in the middle of nowhere… no choice but to suck it up. I hope dawn comes soon because come first light, we are out of here!

August 15 – Grizzly Highway

Keeping with the theme of a morning weather report… Today was one of the worst. We received a weather alert for 1-2” of rain including threats of mudslides and landslides. Not a good start.

Our plans for the day were already locked in at a solid eight hours. We had 10:00 tickets to ride the bus into Denali National Park; the only way in and out, outside of a bush plane or a pack raft. The ride is done in an old converted school bus making a few stops along the dirt road for a bathroom break if need be but there was nothing else available ie, water, food, etc.

The skies were spitting at 10:00 however the cloud layer allowed for some vistas and while we couldn’t see any peaks, we could see that the mountains had received their first dusting of snow overnight. The temperature this morning was a balmy 43 degrees, not what we had expected but at least we were prepared for it. Last week it was 85 degrees.

Our bus driver, Dale, has been driving for 27 years. He was a bit gruff but there was some humor thrown in; he did however take covid precautions very seriously and was on top of any mask slackers. He made the rules clear and simple – keep your hands and heads inside the bus at all times, if we come across an animal we need to stay quiet and bear spray and guns need to be inside your packs.

The initial 30 plus miles was uneventful but everything changed soon thereafter. The cloud layers lifted allowing us to see across the valleys, the rain stopped and there was sunshine lighting up the distant hills and mountains.

The first animals we encountered was a small herd of caribou. These caribou had HUGE racks, really incredible in fact. Caribou are cool in that both the male and female have antlers, the only member of the deer family that do, but the females antlers are generally smaller and more irregular. Based on that, these caribou were clearly male!

The next big moment we had was at an area called Polychrome Pass. This is an area of the park that is both scenically beautiful but also geologically impressive. It is an area of massive rockslides that frequently causes problems for engineers. Today, there was some heavy machinery up there trying to stabilize a section of the road that is only wide enough for one bus (yes. I kid you not. And the busses don’t use any radio to communicate so if you come around a corner and meet another bus… trust me… it’s more than scary). The road is sliding down the mountain- in 2018 alone it dropped 12 feet over the course of the year due to shrinking permafrost. Just a few weeks ago the road was shut for hours as the road slumped, stranding busses for hours on both sides.

The colors and vistas at Polychrome Pass are amazing but again, it was all very limited in its scope. I could however easily see the valley floor below over the road edge that was maybe 2 feet from the bus- I can assure you I did some controlled breathing to get through it. Holy cow, this road made the road up to Machu Picchu look like a walk in the park. I am absolutely amazed this is a road in America.

Denali National Park’s vastness was certainly made evident as we drove on. It is the third largest national park at roughly 6,000,000 acres (about the size of New Hampshire).

Our first bear encounter happened maybe 2 1/2 hours in. A large grizzly foraging on blueberries a few hundred yards off the road. We stopped to watch it for quite some time; Dale having to remind the group in the back to stay quiet and keep their hands in the window. Jenny was thrilled, even if it was a bit far away. Crazy thing was recognizing how big these bears are but how tiny it was sitting there in the immensity of Denali NP.

The last stop and turn around was Eileson Visitor Center, closed still from covid. This is where you should get an incredible view of Denali Mountain but by now it was raining and getting foggy. What we did see which was pretty cool was Muldrow Glacier now in an historic surge which began last year; it is currently moving between 30-60 feet per day! We could make out the glacier and the new surge of broken and blackened ice chunks.

By the time the bus left it was raining pretty good and the windows were mud coated reducing visibility to near zero. I was so bummed that all of the incredible views and the one thing Jenny had asked to do in Alaska, to see Denali, wasn’t to be. All this glorious wilderness was only partially available to the eye – very frustrating but that’s nature and that’s Alaska. Jenny did point out we had seen a bear and that had made her happy.

Dale had narrated the whole ride up but had said he wouldn’t be doing so on the return. He said sometimes taking in nature in silence is much better so we looked forward to doing just that; however the family group in the back had no intentions of it. They talked and talked and talked – loudly. Billy and Jenny put their ear buds in while the woman sitting g across the aisle from me rolled her eyes.

As we summited a hill we found two busses stopped; they were looking at bears. We pulled up but couldn’t see them as we were blocked in by the other busses. Dale patiently waited and waited while everyone grew a bit frustrated until the busses left giving us a perfect view of a mama and her two year old cub foraging for blueberries. They were much closer than the other bear and as we sat and watched (with Dale constantly having to tell the group in the back to quiet down and not put their hands out the window), we were thrilled! The bears continued to move closer and closer and just about this time I heard something hit the ground outside the bus. I turned back to hear this guy (the one guy who has needed constant reminders) say he had dropped his phone outside the window. I couldn’t help but crack up, and then tell Jenny who also began to crack up followed by Billy. The bears were literally maybe 20 feet off the front of the bus – we were in row 2 with row 1 being blocked off so we had a perfect view!

At this point, the guy in the back had to make the walk of shame up to tell Dale his phone was laying on the ground. It was all very comical as there were two grizzlies right there ( not to mention a mama with her cub- a no go) so did he think Dale was going to open the bus doors and say sure, go get it?

We continued to watch the bears until they crossed right in front of us and then quickly disappeared over a ridge on the other side. Wow! Wow! Wow! It was beyond amazing and we were beyond ecstatic. It certainly made up for the incredibly crappy weather we have had!

I was glad to see that the road at Polychrome Pass was still intact and prayed it remained that way while we crossed back over – at only twenty feet wide with a sheer 500 foot drop off, hairpin turns in driving rain I hung my head low, breathed hard and received a consoling pat from Jenny.

One last stop and I got out to clean the windows so we could see better. Jenny joined me as we wiped and wiped. Dale came around the bus with a squeegee to help out and turned to me and said, “I hope you don’t find this offensive or strange but your daughter is stunningly beautiful. I hope you don’t mind me saying so. My mother always told me to tell it like I see it, so I just did.” I, of course, told him no offense at all and told him she is just as stunningly beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

The clean windows only lasted for maybe a mile and the remainder of the two hours felt like a suicide mission with the family constantly talking, at one point the mother asking her children if they wanted to play 20 questions- both myself and the lady next to me verbally said, “Oh God. No.” She went on to suggest they should play “the quiet game.” She turned to me and said, “This is what happens when kids are hooked on electronics; they need constant entertainment when there are none available.”

In the end, the eight hours was worth it. I had concerns Jenny and I would get horribly motion sick but we were OK. The views we did see were incredible and the bears were fantastic. Jenny said she would just have to come back – to finish a hike and to see Denali.

We Survived the Train Wreck

Morning dawned with heavily cloudy skies again. We were in a bit of a rush to start our way north as we had to drop Billy off for the second day of fishing I had lined up for him and it was 130 miles north. We preordered breakfast from Conscious Coffee and made our way out of town.

The clouds were heavy as we traveled north but we could see that there were a few breaks happening. We commented that had we been traveling in this proximity to Yellowstone, the traffic would be unbearable but we had barely any company on the roads.

We made one stop, at the Denali Scenic View North, and sure enough, we saw the peak of the mighty mountain again! It was crazy that within a few minutes it disappeared again. Yesterday, Billy’s fishing guide told him he might see the mountain twice a month. I have read statistically that you only have a 20% chance of actually seeing the mountain – seeing as we have seen one of the peaks twice (there is a north and south but I don’t know which one we have been seeing), I think we are doing pretty good!

We met up with Billy’s guide, George – a science teacher that spends the school year in way upstate NY, and his summers guiding in Alaska. We wished them luck, and Jenny and I continued our trek north for our scheduled afternoon whitewater rafting.

About 15 miles into our 30 mile drive, it started to pour, and I mean pour. We watched as the outside temperature gauge dropped from 54 to 44. The wind picked up and as we reached our destination we were trying to reassure ourselves that not only could we handle the cold but we could handle the class IV rapids we were about to undertake (mind you we have only run class II up until this point).

We grabbed some flatbread pizza for lunch, eating it in the car as the restaurant only offered to go, while Jenny chatted with Thies on Facetime. We were laughing with him that Jenny is 0 for 2 in staying in a canoe so we were hoping that was not going to carry over to the raft!

We were going to be rafting the Nenana River, a glacial river that forms from the Nenana Glacier. It runs north, dumping into the Tanana River which runs into the Yukon River, eventually ending up in the Arctic Ocean. It averages a summer temperature of 31.8 degrees – hypothermic inducing in minutes.

Jenny and I were layered well- two pairs of wool socks, leggings under rain pants, moisture wicking base layer followed by three Patagonia layers- capilene, down, and a waterproof shell. We also had on beanie caps and wind blocking Patagonia gloves. We were perfectly toasty inside our dry suits! We watched as people showed up in cotton socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts (there was no wonder they were freezing half way through the float).

We took a quick drive to the input – an absolutely incredible sight to watch as they dropped the boats a few hundred feet down a cliff, our oarsman actually walking them down an almost 90 degree incline!

We received the requisite safety speech and I of course was having second thoughts, especially after the part about making sure if you fall out to get your feet up quickly so they don’t get wedged under the water on anything, but my steady eddie assured me it would all be fine.

Whitewater is graded on an internationally recognized scale by the American Whitewater Association. Rapids are classified on a scale of I-VI; I being very very tame and VI being holy sh@t; commercial operators can only run up to class V – we were going to be hitting a few class IVs – no big deal, right?

We hit the river running and after a few, “Forwards!” was hollered at us paddlers, we were informed that, “our first rapid would be coming up.” Uhm… what the heck were those pretty darn sizable dips we just went through? The ones he was yelling at us to paddle through and that absolutely doused us, I asked. “Those,” he told me, “were just the warm up.” Oh geezus, you must be kidding me.

Jenny turned and said, “Oh boy, the guide in the boat behind us just put on his helmet.” That was the forewarnings what was to come.

We rounded the bend and head first we went into a pretty substantial rapid. The bow paddlers went down hard and then came up and we were all drenched. And so it went – paddle hard, bow down, wave up, paddlers drenched.

Eventually we hit a rapid named Train Wreck that was a bit different. A series of waves that got progressively bigger. At one point I was staring up at a wall of water, we were nearly vertical and I realized I was frantically paddling the air as my oar wasn’t reaching the water. “Oh God. Please! Stay in the boat,” I hollered over to Jenny as we were whipped up and down.

Emerging victorious from the jaws of Train Wreck our guide, Anthony, said that this was the first run of the summer that he basically had an, “Oh shit” moment. He said we hit this rapid harder than he has all summer; the bow went down so deep it launched his ass off the seat where he was in the back of the raft, and he was basically staring straight down at us thinking the front paddler was done for as he lost his foot holds. How he stayed in without having his feet wedged, I have no idea.

The canyon was beautiful and the sunshine was filtering through the clouds, quickly warming everything it touched. Anthony informed us that the trip would end after a few more bends but the rapids were done and so if anyone wanted to be crazy enough to jump in go ahead. And wouldn’t you know, in went Jenny, floating along on her back, peacefully down the river.

The rafting was a blast! We had so much fun. We kept saying we hoped Billy was catching fish because if not, he will be so bummed to have missed out on having so much fun!

We hauled ass north ten miles to check in to our airbnb and let Jenny get into some dry clothes (the neck gaiter on the dry suit must not have been perfectly sealed to her skin as she had some water trickle in). Then headed back south for 40 miles to pick up Billy.

We found him sitting on the porch of George’s house, drinking a beer, overlooking the most gorgeous view. George quickly handed me a beer and told me that Billy had killed it today- he caught over 40 grayling at least. It had been a spectacular day!!! The experience was amazing too he said. They canoed (good thing Jenny wasn’t with them) across some bold water to hike back to some smaller creeks – all the time keeping bear spray in their hand. An epic day for sure!

We left George and headed back north again to make our 8:30 dinner reservation at 49th State Brewing Company, pulling in right on time. The restaurant has the replica bus that was used for filming the movie, “Into the Wild,” the true story about Chris McCandless, a young kid who lived and died out in the Alaskan bush in an abandoned bus he found not too far from where we were sitting. It is Jenny’s favorite book and of course one of her favorite movies – she is drawn to the story, or perhaps the way of life. The real bus was airlifted out a few years back as people were getting hurt and even dying trying to reach it. It is now at a museum in Fairbanks, but the replica is good. It gave Jenny chills to be inside it, she said.

Alaska certainly has that draw, the one that lead Chris here in the first place. It is magnificent and maybe it’s the weather we have encountered that makes it almost hauntingly appealing. Billy already said he could live here, of course he hadn’t experienced winter here. Jenny, I am sure, could van life it here for a long time. I imagine we will return for sure, once retirement rolls around. In the meantime we have a few more days here, to soak up the beauty, and to literally get soaked!

August 13 – Homestead History

Another cloudy morning…Argh! I drove Billy 45 minutes south to drop him to meet his fishing guide then turned around and drove back. By the time I got back, Jenny was showered and ready to head out. We had no plans for the day except to check out Talkeetna and do a little shopping and eating.

As soon as we rounded the corner of Main Street, Jenny was in love. There was a cute park, a poke bowl place, an ice cream shop and an adorable coffee shop (named Mimi’s cheese haus). The main street was lined with historic buildings turned into hip gift shops and yummy food joints. There were clearly tourists running about but nothing like we saw in Homer and where Homer felt kitschy, Talkeetna felt revitalized and real.

We enjoyed shopping for some souvenirs and gifts to take home. We especially loved the small outdoor marketplace that was set up where locals were selling their handcrafted wares. I got a lesson on knives, (of all things right?) that was certainly very geared towards Alaskan hunting.

After doing some shopping, Jenny and I grabbed some delicious halibut tacos from a really cute taco truck. The only thing is they were fairly small so we were still hungry and decided to split a fried shrimp poke bowl, also delicious.

I told Jenny about an ATV tour I had read about, that was run by the brother of our host and she said it sounded like fun, so we booked the 4:00 tour. We then walked around the outlying neighborhood checking out some of the historical structures that have been preserved.

I especially loved the one that the guy had died in 1975 and with no heirs the cabin was boarded up. The historical society purchased the building from the town and when they opened it up c.2000- it was like a time capsule- everything still in its place- tins in the cupboard, clothes lying on the bed, etc.

With 45 minutes before our tour started and the skies clearing a bit, I suggested to Jenny we take a quick drive to see if Denali was visible at all, and wouldn’t you know. Jenny had to point its summit out to me because it was hurting up above the clouds but because it is totally snow covered, it blended in perfectly with the clouds. It was super cool to see it that way.

We got to the tour with about 10 minutes to spare when Billy texted saying he was on his way back – about three hours earlier than we had expected him. He caught no trout (he did catch salmon but that wasn’t what he was fishing for) and decided to cut his losses. He said he’d love to join us, if there was room, and in the nick of time he joined us!

The couple leading the tour were a hoot and their German Shepherd, Bosco, was too sweet!

The tour started off driving through the streets of Talkeetna. We then had to go over a bridge that spans the river (the bridge being 38 inches wide, the ATV being 35 inches wide), we were basically bouncing off the sides!

We continued for another 6 or 7 miles until we arrived at the summer home of our tour leaders. Dennis parents arrived here in 1959 with five children. They homesteaded 115 acres, building an 8’x12’ “house” with an upstairs loft that all five children slept in. The original cabin is now in disrepair and he has since built himself a modern log cabin that runs off a generator as it is off the grid. The location is spectacular- in the absolute middle of nowhere, only reached by ATVs in the summer or snow machines (as they call a snowmobile in Alaska) in the winter. So so cool!

All three of us really enjoyed this tour. As Billy put it, “I thought I would enjoy it, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.” We appreciated how personal it was and the stories that came with it.

Once back in town, we hustled over to the brewpub to grab dinner. We loved that so many establishments had live music and that there was a band playing at the town park. There is a definite vibe in Talkeetna, one that we all really like.

More scenes from around town: