Done Did Denali

Hi All...We are in Fairbanks and just wanted to write a quick update. We spent much of the last week in Denali National Park where we saw awesome animals, did some amazing hiking, met some interesting people, and wore almost all of our clothes to keep warm. The 6 hour bus ride (the only way to get into the park) took us 85 miles into the park where we camped at Wonder Lake. This campground is the closest that you can get to Mt. McKinley unless you are on the mountain. They say that only 30% of people who come to visit even get to see the whole mountain, and we were incredibly blessed. Despite our very cold and rainy bus ride in, we had two fantastic days of viewing the mountain. There is nothing quite like waking up, sticking your head out of the tent, and seeing a 20,000 foot mountain right in front of you (28 miles away). We were also able to do some great off-trail hiking. Denali is famous for not having many trails in the park, so you are able to just ride the bus and say, "I'd like to get off here please," and they let you just tromp around on the tundra. It is a funny feeling though, because these are the same buses that carry people into the park for the day to do wildlife viewing, so one minute you are scanning for bears and the next you are hopping out to climb every mountains. Surreal, but really wonderful. We were also very fortunate to hit the peak fall season here. Fortunate in that the colors were unbelievable. The camping was also quite an adventure. Because of the nature of the area, all the food is kept in a building surrounded by picnic tables and most people cook and eat there. This leads to getting to know the people around you much more than normal camping, and we had a great time getting to talk to lots of other visitors. Poor Rodney...some nights I think he had cooked, cleaned up, gotten ready for bed, and returned to the cook area only to find me still talking or helping out a new friend with a Scrabble game. This trip also had some great wild life viewing. We saw several bears and moose, birds, a fox, and a coyote. One bear even walked down the road in front of our bus for a few miles. The whole trip was really amazing, and I would have to say that it was a definitely highlight! Although I was at first a bit trepidatious about heading out into the famed Denali, once I was there I spent the entire time being completely captivated by the expansive scenery and fantastic beauty. (Ok, not the entire time...some of that was spent shivering to sleep in the chilly wilderness evenings, but mostly). :) The mountains there are friendly...they seem to just be sitting there waiting for you to climb them, and the joy of heading out across them with no trail is a sort of freedom and adventure that everyone should get to live. Needless to say, we had a great time.
And now we are here in Fairbanks enjoying great food and trying to stay dry. Apparently we have hit a bit of a wet season here in Alaska, but we are heading north yet again and hope to see sunny skies. Tomorrow we head out for the Brooks Range and then back here to Fairbanks. Our heading North is almost done, and I'm not sure what to think...hmmm...until then...it's north for now.

There and Back Again

Hello All…We’ve had a great last week just chillin’ here in Talkeetna, Alaska. We’ve had some rather rainy days which provided ample time for us to work on the big box of books that we brought along, listen to some Car Talk podcasts, and hang out in town at the local roadhouse where we have renewed our love of homemade pies and baked goods. I am finally starting to feel kind of at home here. The town is fairly small, and I am starting to run into people that I know around town. I love the local thing, and we are really enjoying getting to chat with people a little more.
This past week we took a day and drove up to Fairbanks where we got an oil change, checked out the campus, had arguably the best lasagna ever, and got to see the area. It was lovely with rolling hills and a river in the beautiful plain. On the drive we saw 7 moose, and I was pretty thrilled with Rodney’s photographic endeavors out the car window.
On the sunny days we have had a great time out hiking. With his berry book in tow, Rodney’s been identifying the local berries, and we’ve gotten to eat a lot of blueberries. I was nervous, but the locals haul them out of the woods in bags and encourage you with reckless abandon. They’re really good.
After almost everyone we encounter asking if we’d tried fishing yet, we finally caved and I got my very first fishing license ever. Even though we have little rods and didn’t really have any of the attendant gear, we bought some way too heavy line, a fillet knife, and hit the shores. We decided to go where there were lots of people, and while the fishing there wasn’t so wonderful, we preferred that company to the company of grizzlies. We spent several chilly hours casting, and Rodney pulled in a really pretty rainbow trout that we couldn’t keep. Although we didn’t catch anything else, we got to see a lot of salmon that had already spawned float back downstream to die and there were lots of other fish swimming right near the shore. Quite the sight. At least now I can always say that I have fished in Alaska.
We are heading down the road tomorrow for a scenic drive on the Denali Highway, a dirt road that heads to a small town called Paxson. Next week, we are going to get to go into Denali and camp for four days. Until then I think we are going to really enjoy our last several days here in Talkeetna reading, hiking, and dining on the scrumptious cinnamon rolls here at the Roadhouse café.

Bluegrass, Boats, and Big, Big Ungulates

We are having a great time getting out and exploring the areas around Talkeetna. This past weekend was the Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival, which is apparently a well known camping and music and substance weekend. We managed to wander over there on Sunday afternoon after most of the crowds had abandoned their tent sites, and we got to see the calmer side of the festival. Everyone was very friendly, and I found a Winnebago that I really like. Hmmm…maybe for the next time we make this trek.
About 45 minutes north of where we are staying is Denali State Park. It is right at the edge of the national park and offers some great views of the mountains around Denali (and Denali itself if there were no clouds). We headed up there and found the perfect place to try out our newly acquired boat. After a quick chat with the information center, we learned that this lake is actually fed by a stream that has a salmon run, so we were eager to get in the water and check it out. The boat was much easier to set up than we anticipated, and we were quickly in the water paddling along. It is amazing. I just love being out on the water and getting to see everything from in the middle of it all. The boat is a trooper and carried the two of us with no problems whatsoever. Off we paddled to the opposite shore where there was a sandbar and the aforementioned salmon. The girl had also mentioned that there were loads of bear scat in the ankle deep water because this is where the bears come and they have even been seen teaching their young how to fish here.
Well, even when we were quite a ways away, we saw lots of waves in the water, and when we got closer, there were coho salmon all around us. They are the brightest red you can imagine and have dark green heads. They swim toward each other and then seem to fight underwater and cause a great disturbance before they all swim in different directions only to repeat the scenario over and over. We paddled up onto the sandbar and just sat and watched them for a good long while (ever alert for hungry bears given that there was indeed scat on the sandbar). It was such an amazing sight! They are huge fish and are so powerful when they swim and the colors are just striking. Definitely worth the trip!
On the way home our nature experience continued when we came upon a great big moose on the side of the road. I did a quick turn around, and we were able to watch him for quite a while until a semi came down the road and he went charging away.
Good day overall!

August in Alaska

We've arrived! After only 6 weeks, almost 7,000 miles, and lots of conversations, we have arrived in Alaska. The last week here has been a whirlwind tour of beautiful scenery and attempting to sleep somewhere other than our tent. We were fortunate enough to get a campsite in a campground right near Anchorage, where we based out of to search for a place to stay. We spent one day driving north to Talkeetna in search of a cabin or some sort of lodging. A lot of things are not listed on the internet, so you actually have to drive to where you want to stay and check out the boards at the post offices and grocery stores and search diligently for "for rent" signs on the side of the road. Our drive to Talkeetna gave us a few leads, and the next day we headed down to the Kenai peninsula to search for other options. (btw...the Kenai peninsula is beatiful, but one should never attempt to drive a large part if it in one day.) Many, many miles and many phone calls later, we finally!
decided on a little cabin outside of Talkeetna. We felt incredibly blessed because when we drove up, the cabin was just becoming available in two days right when we needed it. (We had to be out of the campsite in Anchorage after four days, and we really didn't want to find another place.) The cabin was exactly our budget and available the exact day we needed it!
So far it has been delightful. We have really enjoyed getting to stay in one place and have lots of time to read and write and just recoup. We've also had a nice time checking out the amazing river that is right outside of Talkeetna. We were also treated to a fantastic view of Denali from the drive into Talkeetna. We happened to hit a day with almost no clouds and you could see the entire mountain. Amazing! From 65 air miles away, the mountain is absolutely enormous and beautiful. We're really looking forward to getting to go hiking up there later on this trip.
We're also really excited about our latest acquisition. After much deliberation and several trips to the Anchorage REI, we finally took the plunge and purchased a boat. It is a lovely bright orange inflatable kayak. In BC we passed so much water that we couldn't get on because we had no flotation devices except for our air mattress, so now I am really looking forward to getting to explore some of the local water. Should be interesting. :)
We hope you all are doing well and enjoying August...