Denali National Park, June 13-19, 2011

DENALI NATIONAL PARK

JUNE 13-19

On our way to Denali National Park we took a rest break at Tatlanika Trading Company and found this interesting truck with skis on the front and tracks on the back. Guess they do whatever they can to get around Alaska in the winter.

Denali "the high one" is the name the Athabascan people gave the massive 20,320 ft. peak that crowns the 600 mile long Alaska Range. Denali is also the name of an immense national park and preserve created from the former Mt. McKinley National Park. At 6 million acres the park is larger than Massachusetts. It remains largely wild and unspoiled and is one of the world's last great frontiers for wilderness adventure.

We picked a wonderful time to visit with all the wild flowers in bloom including these Alpine Lupines. Other flowers in bloom were bluebells, dogwood (which is a flower here and not a tree as we know it in the lower 48), wild iris, wild geranium, prickly rose and low bush cranberry. If you can find some cranberries that made it over winter, they are delicious!

One of our first excursions was to visit the park's sled dog kennel. They keep 30+ dogs to be utilized in the winter to patrol the park. They are called Alaskan huskies but are not a recognized AKC breed. They are whatever fits the bill as a sled dog. They must have thick fur, long legs, big feet and most of all, love to run. Here a ranger is combing out the winter coat. You can see he has a bucket to collect all the fur. The dogs were very friendly and we were allowed to pet them.

This moose crossed the road in front of the bus on our way back to the Visitor's Center. There are several moose in the area with their calves.

We went to Cabin Night Dinner Theater and enjoyed a wonderful all-you-can-eat dinner of salmon, ribs, corn, beans, red potatoes, biscuits and berry cobbler. After dinner we were treated to a musical skit commemorating life in the 1930s in an Alaska community.

Everyone who visits should take a day and ride the shuttle bus to Eielson Visitor's Center, 66 miles into the park. (You can only drive a private vehicle in 15 miles.) One of the most picturesque areas was the overlook from Polychrome Pass. It was like being in an airplane looking down at the huge valley below and the mountains of the Alaska Range to the west. The bus ride was another story. Going over the mountain on narrow dirt roads was pretty scary when we met another bus on a curve. Our bus stopped, with its nose out over the valley, while the other bus inched its way around. Not for the faint of heart!!

We made a rest stop and I took this picture of the Tolkat River and mountains to the east. The rivers are so young and so laden with pulverized rock, called rock flour, that they can wander across their broad flat valleys to set new channels in a matter of days. The water is very gray, like wet cement, and are easy to distinguish from fresh water rivers. Fish cannot live in glacial rivers.

After about 4 hours we reached Eielson and could view only the bottom of Mt. McKinley (or Denali) as the clouds were covering the top. At 20,320 feet the mountain makes it own weather and only about 30% of visitors get to see it's top as permanent snowfields cover more than 75% of its surface. Summer temperatures on the mountain range from 10 degrees F to -50 degrees F. Winter lows at just 14,500 feet can plummet to -95 degrees F. Only a little over 50% of mountain climbers ever reach the top. Several have died already this year in their quest to conquer the mountain.

Numerous glaciers still radiate from the high peaks of the Alaska Range and are visible from the park road. This beautiful landscape is known as tundra. The park and preserve owes its beautiful landscape contrasts-wide, low plains and dark, somber, mountains: brightly colored peaks and sheer granite domes-to the restless collision of 2 tectonic plates that continue to push Mt. McKinley upwards at the rate of 3/4" per year.

On a ranger led nature hike I learn the reason for these strange markings on the aspen trees. Moose love aspen and in the winter when food is scarce they will find the younger aspen and, using their bottom teeth much like a potato peeler, scrape of a layer of the tender bark to eat. The result is the scars left on the tree trunks.

Another ranger led hike took me to Horseshoe Lake, formed from an oxbow in the Nenana River. Some rivers wind around so much that sometimes a new channel is formed and the silt and debris close off the "bow" part and make a lake out of it. This area continues to hold water due to a fresh water stream that empties into it and also a beaver dam at one end. The ranger that led this hike, originally from Kentucky, has been here for about 17 years and lives in a 16x16 cabin with no running water. He does have electricity and the "development" he lives in has a community well. He also has sled dogs and leads excursions into Denali in the winter.

I got up a little after 1 am and took this picture to illustrate the meaning of Land of the Midnight Sun. Sunset is after 1 am and sunrise around 3:30 am this time of the year. It never gets any darker than this at night. You could easily sit outside and read a book!

I rarely like to stay in an area very long but I love it here. There is so much about nature to learn here if you have to time to seek it out. Sadly, after a week here, we must move on......

Fairbanks, AK June 5 -13

FAIRBANKS, AK June 5-13

We finally arrived in Fairbanks! Our first stop was the Pioneer Park, a free city park complete with several museums, a stern wheeler, railroad, a great playground for children, a merry-go-round, and many original log buildings brought in from downtown Fairbanks that are now used as gift shops and eateries. Every evening at 7 pm there is music in the gazebo. It's a great place to spend an afternoon or evening.

At the entrance to the Visitor's Center is the most northern antler arch, mostly moose antlers. We did have some rain today, which is good as there is a wildfire burning just north of the city.

Another day we visited the Ice Museum which features cold-season Fairbanks with full size displays made from local crystal-clear ice. They are unbelievable! These turtles were about 5 feet long.

We took a tour on the Riverboat Discovery on the Chena River. The Binkley family has sailed the rivers of Alaska for 5 generations.

One stop along the river was at Trail Breaker Kennel, owned by Dave Monson and his late wife Susan Butcher. Susan won the 1000 mile Iditarod sled dog race 4 times! Dave is also a sled dog racing champion and gives demonstrations from his yard along the Chena River. Susan died from leukemia in 2006 leaving behind Dave and 2 small daughters.

Another stop was at a Native Alaskan village. Here Hannah is modeling a gorgeous fir coat, but so practical for their winters which can go to -60 degrees.

Just had to try our hand at panning for gold, so we toured the El Dorado Gold Mine. Between the two of us we found $30 worth of gold flakes and had them put into a locket.

Our last tour was to the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway, also known as the "Haul Road". Here is a good picture of the highway and the pipeline along side. Notice how far it goes off in the distance. The pipeline is 799 miles long and travels between Prudoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to Valdez, the furthest north ice free port in Alaska.

We made it across the Arctic Circle!

Alaska Highway, Haines Junction, Yukon to Delta Junction, AK

June 1 we were back on the Alaska Highway and as usual, the views were stunning.

I don't know who was more surprised, me or the moose. I was trying to get a picture of the trees that were killed by the Spruce Bark Beetles when all of a sudden - there he was. Looks like he was putting on the brakes!

Soon after we passed Destruction Bay we encountered the part of the Alaska Highway everyone dreads-the frost heaves and pot holes. We could only travel 25-35 miles an hour for about 200 hundred miles.

While camping in Tok for a couple of days, we took another side trip, this time to "Chicken". Chicken was the site of an early gold mining town about 80 miles from Tok on the Taylor Highway. There is NOTHING but trees on the Taylor Highway until you arrive in Chicken. This is downtown Chicken, a mercantile, saloon, and cafe. We did get a delicious cinnamon roll at the cafe.

For $15 you can pan for gold all day. This fellow said he found about $30 worth yesterday. That's a lot of work for only $15 profit! But it did look like fun. He found a few flecks in his pan while we were watching.

Finally, on June 4, we arrived in Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaska Highway. Bill drove all 1422 miles of it. From here to Fairbanks we will be on the Richardson Highway.

Gee, I hope the mosquitoes aren't really this big!

It's been a long time since we left Dawson Creek (12 days) and the beginning of the Alaska Highway on May 24, but it's been an awesome trip so far.

Haines and Juneau, Alaska May 30-31

We left Whitehorse this morning with the plan to drive to Dawson City, 200+ miles northeast. Instead we decided to drive south to Haines, AK. How great to be able to change our mind on a whim! The drive to Haines was, again, awesome. Beautiful snow covered mountains were everywhere you looked. There was still snow on the ground at the higher altitudes.

Haines, AK is about 150 miles from Haines Junction in the Yukon at the end of the Haines Highway. It is a very picturesque little harbor town, surrounded by snow capped mountains.

We were fortunate to find a campsite on the Lynn Canal which goes from Juneau to Haines, then 15 miles further to Skagway. (Skagway is on the southern of the Klondike Highway, also a dead end.)

On Tuesday, May 31 we took the "fast ferry" Fjordland to Juneau, 90 miles west of Haines. Along the way we say sea lions, whales, harbor seals and lots of eagles. Haines is noted for its high concentration of eagles.

After our bus tour of Juneau, we grabbed a sandwich and ate on the dock in downtown Juneau. Juneau has 3 areas: downtown (self explanatory) the valley (airport and residential area) and "out the road". There are four roads going out of town and all are dead ends. If you aren't downtown or in the valley you are on one of these roads. There are only about 40 miles of roads in Juneau.

After lunch we walked up the hill to the State Capital Building and took a tour. The Alaska capital building does not have a dome as do most.
Our bus driver told us about when the first McDonald's opened in Juneau a few years ago. Traffic backed up for miles and they sold out (17,000 burgers) the first day they were opened! It took a week for more burgers to arrive by boat and they sold out in 2 days that time. After that, they have been able to keep enough food on hand.

We met our bus at the harbor and proceeded to the Mendenhall Glacier, then headed "out the road" to meet our catamaran back to Haines.

We enjoyed a bowl of smoked salmon chowder, roll, and a cookie for supper. Anna, the owners daughter was our hostess. She is in high school in Haines and plays volleyball and basketball. I asked her who they played as they are 150 miles from the nearest town. She said they pack a suitcase and go by ferry, often gone for a week at a time. They do their school work on the boat.

On the trip back (about 2 hours) we saw more whales and these harbor seals catching the last bit of the days sunshine on the rocks.

Awesome trip. I'd highly recommend it to anyone visiting Skagway or Haines.