Alaska

Day 285 – August 9 (continued…)

After crossing the border into Alaska (which went REALLY well – whew – no dramas whatsoever – which was a relief) we drove to the city of Tok, which is the first major Alaskan town west of the Canadian border

After visiting the fantastic visitors center in Tok, we drove on towards Fairbanks

We spotted quite a few moose alongside the road!

The highlight though was spotting this massive bull moose chomping away. It is VERY rare to find the boys....they keep their distance and remain illusive to the lens, frustratingly. This one was standing in a wet marsh type ground, which also meant that Murray was too. Eeek, the car carpet suffered!






An almost cartoon expression captured. Marty Moose, Marty Moose....Wally World.





Holy cow this truck is just a BIT dusty

Now, just a bit more about the Alaskan Highway (which finishes in Fairbanks)

An overland route to Alaska was being considered as early as 1930, but it was the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 that made it clear how militarily strategic this route would be. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the construction of the Alaska Highway. Soon, an agreement with Canada granted the US right of way and waived taxes, import duties and immigration requirements.

The first surveyors who marched across the wilderness to locate a route roughly followed a chain of airstrips known as the Northwest Staging Route. Whenever possible, they used existing winter roads, pack trails, and trap lines, often having to divert to avoid muskeg and rough terrain.

Construction began in March 1942, with temperatures of -40C (-40F). In June 1942, the Aleutian Islands were invaded by the Japanese army and a sense of urgency arose to complete the road. More than 10,000 troops worked feverishly 16 hours a day, seven days a week, cutting trees, mashing out road surface, bridging rivers and streams. The final construction work ended on October 25, 1942, and officially opened to civilian traffic in 1948.

I just thought that was very interesting:)

Now, back to our trip.....

We stopped briefly in a town called North Pole, where apparently Santa lives (really?), but the camping was way too spendy, so we drove on.

We arrived in Fairbanks having spotted NINE moose in total along the road; three mother and baby pairs (one alongside a runway), two more females and one male bull moose. Amazing – considering how hard they are to spot in the wild (hooray for WILD Alaska)!

We decided to camp at ‘Ice Alaska’ a run down campground where every winter they host the Ice Olympics – an amazing ice carving competition (we saw some AMAZING photos of competitions from the past years).

Luckily the nice owner lady let us cook our dinner inside

We made Fantastic nachos!

We then did laundry and used the wifi, but we ran out of quarters and the office was closed, so some of the still slightly damp laundry had to hold on until morning *sigh*.

Day 286 – August 10

We got up and went into town to dry our clothes (and how lucky were WE – I found a machine that still had time on it, and it was plenty to finish off our clothes).

Then it was straight to Wal-Mart to stock up on food and drinks, and of course one last Subway sandwich (we cannot make sandwiches ourselves that are cheaper than a $5 subway footlong – such a great deal).

Then it was 68 miles up to the start of the Dalton Highway at Livengood, on the Elliot Highway. There are only 4 gas stations on the 414 mile Dalton Highway – Yukon Crossing, Five-Mile Camp, Coldfoot and Deadhorse. So we made sure we started with a full tank!

Deadhorse – our destination – only 414 miles to go!

An interesting board about the permafrost landscape, click to enlarge and enjoy.

The road was windy, mostly dirt, and very wet from the rain with some rough beat up paved parts as well.

Dolph got just a LITTLE bit dirty…

Originally built in the 1970s to supply equipment to the Prudhoe Bay oilfields and provide a service corridor for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Dalton Highway is the only road in Alaska that crosses the Arctic Circle.

Also known as the Haul Road, it was initially accessible only to support trucks, but in the 1990s, the full route was opened to private drivers. At their own PERIL!

While astoundingly scenic, much of the highway is a bone-jarring gravel route that should not be taken lightly. Services are available in only a handful of places

The pipeline is visible from the road most of the time

Dirty Dolph by the pipeline



Some portions of the drive were paved, yes at first this sounds better, but the paved sections also had the deepest and hardest edged pot holes that would rip your axle off!

Yes, we went looking for the gold, alas wet tundra.

Holy cow Dolph is DIRTY!

Just a BIT caked with mud

Us at the Arctic Circle Wayside

The Dalton highway crosses the Arctic Circle at Mile 115

At one point we spotted this gorgeous rainbow – one nice thing that came from all the rain

It went ALL the way across the road – we took that as a good sign. Like an entrance to a fabled land. (Click on pic for a larger view)

We also spotted some cows (female moose) from the road. This shot was taken with the little camera just to demonstrate how you had to watch the road or die, plus look for tiny dots on the 360 degree horizon for possible distant animal sightings. Yes, lots of veering sometimes.

Now here they are again, we've found a dirt trail that got us closer to the Mosquito plagued lake. Murray crept as stealth as possible, but they spotted us, and retreated out of the lake

They kept a close eye on us, so we weren’t able to get very close. This was almost a stand off. They were HUGE. Murray backed away....

Near the northern end of the highway, the gleaming Trans-Alaska Pipeline winds across a vast tundra landscape along the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The highway crosses the Brooks Range at the 4,800 ft high Atigun Pass, the highest point on Alaska’s road system.

Murray by the pipeline

We finished our day of driving at Coldfoot, after driving past the 'town'– we decided against the campground, and returned to Coldfoot to camp. We filled up with petrol and then asked where we could camp. We were told we could park anywhere on the grass and stay overnight for free, so we chose a secluded spot, and got out our stuff to make dinner.

Interesting fact: in 1989 the temperature in Coldfoot dropped to -63C (-82F), the coldest ever recorded in North America.

The mosquitoes were ravenous – so we HAD to get out the head nets!

One of the monster mosquitoes thinks he can extract the lifeblood of DOLPH! Good luck - I think NOT!

The culprit – stagnant water! However it does lend itself to be a beautiful landscape mirror.

It was a nice dinner – but kinda funny to bring your fork to your mouth when you keep forgetting you have a net on your head! So, of course, we took our meals inside to Dolph’s cab and swatted all the mosquitoes before enjoying our meal in peace.

The last shot of the day, a beautiful reflecting sky scape.

Day 287 – August 11

The bizarre midnight sun made it hard for us to get to sleep, so a bit of a morning sleep in was necessary! Of course, we ate our cereal in the truck, the mosquitoes love the morning as well.

Then it was time to continue Northwards towards Deadhorse

Yes, this is like Dolph model shoot. He's very willing, yet refreshingly humble in his natural rugged beauty.

Me waiting patiently in Dolph

The official Link Up point – where the Dalton Highway was completed in 1974

The sides of the road are vicious – really steep, rollovers happen all the time apparently. Due to the surface, it is very easy to suddenly 'drift' sideways in a slide motion. It only takes two feet to the right and your in serious poo poo. 6 foot drop offs are the norm, if you're lucky. The cliff edges are the real butt clinchers when drifting.

The Brooks Range. Look close and you'll see a switch back corner in the shot. Railings? I think NOT.

Lying north of the Brooks Range, Alaska’s North Slope encompasses 88,000 sq miles of largely flat, open Arctic tundra

We saw a lot of hunters set up for Elk bow hunting.

The word tundra is derived from the Finnish tunturia meaning ‘treeless land,’ this circumpolar environment is characterized by low temperatures and thin topsoil that only supports ground-hugging vegetation

We spotted some Elk in the distance

And also some hunters who were not doing a very good job of not letting the Elk see them (the Elk gave them WIDE berth, even though the hunters had hidden behind a hump in the land). The rule is that they must hunt them 5 miles from the dirt road...hmmph, I think some rules were being broken! Not to worry, Robin Hood they were not, useless they were.

Caribou – have hooves that provide support in the soft tundra and snow, function as paddles when the animal swims, and, in winter, help to scrape away snow to expose the limited grazing below. Unlike moose, both bulls and cows grow antlers.

Mosquitoes kill one third of the caribou in this region by going up their nose and laying their eggs. Eventually the larva suffocates them. They also kill by laying eggs on the caribou’s’ backs (in the spine) which can paralyze them.

We also saw a few marmots and arctic ground squirrels.

And THEN – very exciting – our first WILD Musk Ox spotting

We were told these spottings in the wild are rare – so we were VERY VERY Excited!

Musk oxen live year round on the open tundra, protected from the extreme cold by a soft insulating layer of hair known as qiviut. Here you see a baby, and behind the mother - clearly demonstrating size.

Musk oxen eat a wide variety of plants, including grasses, sedges, and woody plants.

Musk ox are more or less intermediate between the sheep and oxen groups. Although I think they look like massive Guinea Pigs! Well, at least from the rear

It is ox-like in size, but its profile, hairy muzzle, thin lips and relatively small pointed ears might belong to a giant, long-haired ram.

Muskoxen give off a stronger odor than Bison or cattle during the breeding season. The odor comes from its urine though, not musk.

Muskoxen have good sight and hearing and can run rapidly when necessary. This one easily runs down a steep descent.

They travel only about 50 miles between summer and winter ranges.

The two cute little babies in the group

Here Murray has captured a stand off. A display of dominance and submission.

And we have a winner!


!Cheese!




You can tell by looking at these guys that they are prehistoric - they used to hang around with mammoths!

In this pic you can clearly see the mark in their back that is referred to as the 'Saddle'. For obvious reasons.

Dolph had two layers of filth – the outer mudlayer, and the under mudlayer – nice

We were told they put calcite in the gravel to make the road bond together better

Dolph's fuel cap, covered in mud

It's like Dolph was morphing, growing a second skin to change beneath! (cue eerie soundtrack)

Calcite makes the mud stick like concrete!



After the mud photo shoot we continued on up the highway, where we had THE spotting of the day.....
A blonde grizzly bear running in the distance. Its a little blurry as it was a hand held shot, and way in the distance. BUT a sighting nonetheless.

He was gorgeous – such an amazing site to see in the wild!

We got to Deadhorse at 8:30 pm. Everything was closed, but of course it was still was so light out that it looked like midday.

So we set up to cook our turkey burgers in the parking lot

The only accommodation in town – the Arctic Caribou Inn (although we stayed in their parking lot)
Murray cooking away

We had our fantastic turkey burgers sitting in Dolph though because it was freezing cold outside!

It was still completely light out when we went to bed at midnight!!

In the North Slope – this far north, the sun never sets between May 10 and August 2, and never rises between November 18 and January 23!

Day 288 – August 12

We got up early and drove down to the Ford shop to have them take a look at Dolph, because he had hit a rock on the way up. What happened was that a grater had left what they call a ‘berm’ on the road – which is really just a pile of gravel and rocks. The berm was on our side of the road, so Dolph had to straddle it. The road is narrow and the oncoming traffic is usually huge semi trucks barreling along over blind hills, so we had no choice but to straddle the berm. It started off small, then grew and grew – eventually a rock that was slightly larger than the size of a softball, which was perched on top of berm, hit Dolph. We could see that things underneath were bent up, but he was still driving fine, so we continued the final 100 miles up to Deadhorse.

So, the ford guys were nice enough to put him up on the hoist to take a look. They could see that the crossbar (the bar that as part of the frame holds the two front wheel apart) was bent up into the oil pan. He figured we could make it back to Fairbanks if we drove slowly and took it easy. Although of course we also had no choice, since he didn’t have any of the parts to fix it!

SO – we drove back to the Arctic Inn, just in time to grab a bit hot cocoa and go into the room where our tour of Prudhoe Bay would begin.


The North Slope oilfields, often collectively called Prudhoe Bay, make up the largest oil producing field in North America. While geologic surveys first took place in the 1950s, the first major discovery was made in 1968. The pipeline was constructed across the state to the ice-free port of Valdez.

These tires allow them to drive over the tundra without damaging the delicate plant life. The tires were invented by an Alaskan who saw the native Alaskan whalers moving their boats up onto shore on inflated sealskins.

The tires are inflated to only 5psi. The inventor claims that if you ran over a birds nest, it wouldn’t damage the eggs. He demonstrated this by having one of the trucks drive over himself! (of course he wasn’t hurt at all!)

Deadhorse, the oilfields’ service center has a shop, a gas station, hotels and restaurants. Prudhoe Bay and the Artic Ocean coast lie beyond a checkpoint and can only be accessed on tours run by the Arctic Caribou Inn.

Murray and I at the TOP of the Americas - with our feet in the Arctic Sea (and yes the water was FREEZING!!!)

And on the other side of the peninsula, just a BIT cleaner looking!

We each picked up a lucky Alaskan rock (or, so our guide said they were…)

Underlying the thin tundra surface is permafrost. The permanently frozen ground cannot absorb surface water, resulting in numerous small shallow ponds and bogs.

Tundra areas typically have little precipitation, a growing season of less than 60 days, and average temperatures of 54F (12C) during the summer and -30F (-34C) in the harsh winter.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Deadhorse!
One interesting fact -the city was named after the saying that the area was like ‘feeding a dead horse’ – pointless. I guess that was before they discovered the oil.

When oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, no one knew how to transport it to the market. There are 5 reservoirs deep of oil in Prudhoe Bay. They have been at it for 40 years now and are currently drilling in number 3.

Back on the road heading towards Fairbanks

It was decided to lay an 800 mile pipeline from the North Slope oil fields to the ice-free port of Valdez, where a pipeline terminal and shipping facility were to be built to handle the crude.

We were told in Prudhoe Bay that cranes are shut off at 40 below, planes stop flying at 38 below, and the worst chill factor they have had during a big storm? 164 below (that is Fahrenheit!!)

Construction began on April 29, 1974 and was completed 3 years later at a cost of $8 billion.


Now run by a consortium, The 800 mile long Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports nearly a million barrels of oil per day.


The zigzag configuration of the pipeline’s above-ground section allows for earthquake movement as well as expansion and contraction of the pipe due to temperature changes.


It can endure winter temperatures of -70F (-57C) when it is empty and -145F (-63C) when it is full.


Pump stations along the route are at intervals of 50 to 100 miles – the keep the crude moving at six miles an hour.


Underground sections of the pipeline are buried 8 to 16 feet deep in conventional, insulated, or refrigerated ditches, depending on soil sensitivity.


We didn’t see any polar bears – but they do see them once and awhile up in Deadhorse. Apparently polar bears can smell open water from 30 miles away! They also can run 35mph, although they overheat quickly. They can also swim 200 miles if necessary.


Oil was first discovered on the North Slope thousands of years ago. Native Eskimos cut blocks of oil-soaked tundra from natural seeps to use as fuel.

In this pic you can see what the driver dreaded! An oncoming high speed truck ready to run you off the road or at the very least throw rocks at your truck.

Prudhoe Bay was initially estimated to contain 9.6 billion barrels recoverable crude oil and more than 26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Through the use of advanced techniques the estimate of recoverable oil has been revised to approximately 13 billion barrels!!


Lunch break on the way back down – yup Dolph is even dirtier – amazing


The Dalton Highway allowed public access to Deadhorse for the first time in 1994.


The fall colors are just amazing in the tundra

We drove, and drove, and drove, from noon onwards, south towards Fairbanks. We had made an early appointment with the Ford dealer in Fairbanks for tomorrow morning, so it was essential to get back tonight. We pretty much drove straight through, other than lunch and to stop and get gas in Coldfoot. However, when we got there – they were OUT!!! She said we could sit and wait for the truck, but we figured we would continue on, since there are two more gas stations along the Dalton towards Fairbanks. However, we got to the next one, and their pump was broken! SO we drove on to the final one – and guess what, they were out too – and not expecting more for days! So we continued on, Murray putting Dolph into neutral and coasting down hills as MUCH as possible. Over one hill we got up a bit of speed, a bit too much I guess, since we got pulled over. First he asked us what state our license plates were from; since they were so dirty he couldn’t read them. We told him Minnesota, and then explained our peril – that we were NEARLY out of gas and just coasting to the next gas station. We don’t speed ever – it was an accident that we went over the limit coming down the hill. While he checked out registration out, he had us clean off the taillights and the license plate (too funny – both of us scrubbing away – yes sir yes sir! We just SO didn’t want a ticket!!! We were lucky that he gave us a warning, and told us the next gas station wasn’t too far off – WHEW!


Not long after I yelled to Murray MOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE! A huge female moose was crossing the road with her calf. They glanced at us (it was SO dark out that I barely had spotted them in our headlights) as we slammed on the brakes, and then they calmed walked on. That was close! Then not long after, Murray hit the brakes after we saw a huge owl sitting in the middle of the highway! How bizarre!

So we coasted on, finally finding a gas station at a place called hilltop after what felt like AGES of driving with the Empty warning buzzing away eeeek! When we filled up, we found out we had driven to within 3 gallons of an empty tank – wow that was close.

We continued on, arriving at Wal-Mart at 12:30, crawled in the back and fell exhausted into bed!

After a quick fruit cup snack of course

Day 289 – August 13

We got up in the morning and conveniently just had to drive next door to the Ford dealer for our 7am appointment. They put Dolph up on the hoist to take a look, and came back with bad news. Not only was the cross member bent up into the oil pan, also the crash changed the alignment of the steering mechanism and split a frame bracket. We aren’t sure if the other damage was also from that rock, or perhaps just from one of the thousands of potholes we tried our best to avoid on that rough road. The great parts manager Greg ordered up the parts (from California – to be sent next day air – although the bolts had to come from Tennessee – how bizarre)! We then spent hours back and forth with Ford, our insurance company and my Dad – trying to figure this mess out. Eventually we were able to leave at 2:30 pm, grab a subway, and head back to the RV park for the night.

First though – Dolph needed a bath – badly. Ford told us that we had to do it ourselves because he was SO dirty or they would charge us to do it

We spent $40 dollars on JUST the high pressure water hose – to get as much of the caked on mud off as possible – gosh it was EVERYWHERE! AND EXTREMELY stubborn, it just laughed at the high pressure. We only got about 80% off.


The bottom of the truck was horrific – so filthy. This is also how Murray managed to coat his clothing, hands and face in mud.

Next we went to a proper carwash and spent another 20 on a soap and polish. Expensive – but well needed. I had to laugh though when we went through the drive through carwash – Murray had flakes of mud on his face and all over his clothes from the previous carwash – looked like HE needed to go through the drive through as well!

Back at the campground we washed the muddy clothes, had a nice hot shower and tried to avoid all the VERY odd people who were hanging around!!

Later that evening we decided to go check out the local tourist attraction – Pioneer Park.

It is a historical themed park – featuring the railway car that President Warren G. Harding used while visiting Nenana in 1923


Me on the back of the railway car – it was quite nice inside – spacious!


It also features the SS Nenana, a steam wheeler which operated on the Chena River from 1933 to 1956


Murray also decided to see what it would be like to be a dog musher


And he waited in the designated area while I shopped


The park has many of the original old homestead buildings from Fairbanks, which now house a cute collection of shops.


Later we followed our map to the local Thai restaurant - Lemongrass - and had a fantastic meal!

Day 290 – August 14

We brought Dolph in at 8am, and then called around for hotel rates. We then walked to the nearby shopping area to pick up a few things, and relax by the huge lovely fireplace in Barnes and Noble’s bookshop. At 2 we got the courtesy shuttle from Ford to our hotel, quickly showered, and then caught the local city bus back to the office. The very nice parts manager Greg had invited us over to his house for dinner! He drove, and when we arrived we met his lovely wife Bev (who is from Minnesota)!

They cooked up a fabulous chicken, shrimp and TONS of veggies stir fry BBQ meal, and the artesian bread we brought went great with it. Cookies we picked out and some great ice cream for dessert finished off a great evening. By then it was raining, and they graciously offered to drive us back. They drove us through town and pointed out historical buildings, good walks for the next day, etc. It was really a lovely evening – so nice to have been invited over by strangers. We really did appreciate it!

They hotel was a nice change from sleeping in the truck as well. You mean – I DON’T have to walk outside to go to the restroom? Wow – the luxury ha ha! It was nice to have a TV and wifi though!


Lovely sunset in Fairbanks

Day 291 – August 15

We checked out at 11 and walked to Pioneer Park again. Bev had told us about ’40 Below’ – so we HAD to check it out!


Lovely flowers along the way



All of the stores/cabins have their stories posted outside – I liked this one incorporated into a totem pole design

I think it’s great that they have preserved SO many buildings

We then went to the 40 Below attraction. It is a walk-in freezer that they keep cool, but turn all the way down to 40 degrees below when a tourist pays for the experience. We waited half an hour for it to cool down, and then donned the hooded coats they provided and headed in.


Murray sitting on the ice throne – yup it was COLD!!!!


We both also were provided with a glass of hot water. When you threw it up in the air it immediately turned into icicles which fell to the floor – amazing!


Murray and I posing by the thermometer – BURRRRRRRRRR!

Murray had shorts on, so once his legs started burning from the cold – we headed out. I think we lasted just over 2 minutes. Shame that one of the attractions wasn’t possible though. We were given nails that we could hammer with a frozen banana into a piece of wood. However, unfortunately the banana was completely frozen TO the wood, ah well.

We walked on – past more run down cabins in town

And eventually ended up at Big Daddy’s BBQ (the Northernmost Southern BBQ) – or so they say. Had a nice lunch, during which we received a phone call with bad news. Once they got Dolph up on the rack to stretch him out and replace those parts, they found out it was a lot more work than they first expected. They aren’t open on the weekends (today is Friday) – so their new finish estimate was midday Monday!!!! We offered more money for someone to come in on Saturday to finish it off, but they said it just wasn’t possible. We left the restaurant and just next door noticed a nice looking hotel. So we inquired – and luckily they had GREAT weekend rates, because most of their business is during the week. So we booked to stay for the weekend, and spent the rest of the day relaxing in our nice room with TV – lovely.

The view of the river from our room

Nice vending machine dinner cause we were too lazy to go out, and we enjoyed a movie on our laptop. Frustrating to have to stay the weekend – but there was nothing we could do!

Day 292 – August 16

We slept in and relaxed all morning and eventually around noon caught the bus to Wal-Mart. Had a nice subway lunch to buy snacks for the hotel room, then went to starbucks so Murray could work on blog photos and I could read. We then caught the bus to the large movie theater in town to see Tropic Thunder (funny – but quite dirty)! We walked back to the hotel – very quickly since we could see a storm coming in the distance (especially since I was carrying a large bucket of popcorn that I did NOT want to get wet)! We JUST beat the rain storm – and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

We somehow still stayed up until 3am though – because the movie Cool Runnings came on – and it was just too great to not watch all the way through again!

Day 293 – August 17

Today we slept in, watched TV and worked on the blog (we finished off TWO!)


Lovely sunset


Dinner – delivery style

Our most exciting day yet on this trip – I must say.

Day 294 – August 18

We slept in a bit, and then reluctantly checked out at 11. We set up home in the lobby, with Muz on his laptop and me on the desktop lobby computer for guests. The girls working there said they didn’t mind if we just chilled there for a few hours while waiting for Ford to call and tell us Dolph was fixed. Eventually we called Ford at 3pm to see what was going on. They said Dolph was still being worked on, but they may NOT be done by 5 since he didn’t go in until noon today. I was FURIOUS!!! They had had him for 4 full days now – and we wanted to get back on the road! They did call back though, to say the mechanic had agreed to stay a bit late to finish off the job – thank GOODNESS! We picked him up at 6, paid our part that insurance wouldn’t cover, and got on our way.

Of course we stopped by Wal-Mart to stock up (and get ICE! The cooler was not so cool anymore). Then it was a quick subway (someone managed to pick up our sandwich – so they had to make us another, then the original came back untouched when the person realized what they had done – so we got 2 foot longs for the price of 1 – not bad)!

We eventually got back on the road at 7:30 pm and headed south. We got three and a half hours South of Fairbanks, when we came to a roadblock. Apparently a truck had rolled and caused a hazardous chemical spill, so the road was closed off for at least a few more hours. It was only 10:30 pm, so we decided to watch some Lost episodes and see if they opened the blockade. We gave up at midnight, and crawled in the back to go to sleep. (this was the ONLY road south, hte only other option was to go many many hours out of your way to get down to Anchorage - like an entra 6-8 hours of driving, I think not!)

Day 295 – August 19

We were woken up at 4am by the sound of cars and trucks finally driving down the highway. We decided that was TOO early to get started though, and slept in until 7:30.

We noticed as we were driving that the ride was quite bumpy – it felt like something was wrong with the wheels….hmmmm

We stopped at a few viewpoints to get amazing views of Mount McKinley (which is only viewable about 20% of the time because it is usually so cloudy around the mountain)


Mount McKinley is located in Denali National Park


Athabaskans (the native people of this land) called the peak Denali, “The Great One,” but most Alaskans continue to refer to Mount McKinley by its old name.


Murray & I & Mt. McKinley

Later we saw a Mother Black Bear and two cubs run across the road, and bolt up a tree


WOW they are fast agile climbers! The pics are bad as they were hand held on the little camera whilst trying to drive as well.


One of the cubs eventually worked his way down


But the other one seemed suck up there with fear after hearing some noisy Harley's go by


We stopped briefly in the town of Wasilla and popped by the Ford dealer to get the tires balanced. Since they had done the 30,000 mile service as well up in Fairbanks, the tires had got rotated. However, the service does not require tire balancing, which is often necessary after moving back tires to the front. It Definitely helped - gave us a much smoother ride!


We finally arrived in Homer WAY South in the Kenai Peninsula around 6pm

Founded in 1895 and named for Homer Pennock, a New York con man who spent a few months in the area, Homer sells itself as the ‘end of the road.’ In the 1890’s Homer was a coal –shipping settlement, which developed into a fishing village and finally into a pleasant small town.


We spotted some float planes along the drive


And continued even further south down the Homer Spit


Thought to be the remnant of an ancient glacial moraine, Homer Spit has been spared from the ravages of the sea by reclamation and rock walls. This is Homer’s main tourist district.


We made it in time before they closed to the Bald Mountain Air office and paid our final bill, got weighed for the flight and picked up some brochures about the flight we would be doing tomorrow. (we laughed when they weighed us - as we both weighed less than we expected! Too funny since we spent the last few days in that hotel room snacking on cookies and ding dongs!!)


We then went back to camp and had a nice dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup with this amazing mountain view!


Yummmm – gotta love that non stick pan!

Day 296 – August 20

We were up at 7 to pack and prepare for our flight to Katmai National Park.


We met our float plane at the dock at 8:30


We were all assigned wading waterproof boots (that went up to our hip), before making our way to the planes


The pilot’s area in the 10 person plane – that was actually a lot bigger than I expected!


Then it was up up and away to Geographic Bay in Katmai National Park


A view of Homer from the air


Our plane

Katmai was proclaimed a National Monument in 1918, and became a National Park in 1980.

It now encompasses 5,500 square miles of cold lakes, scenic valleys, volcanic landscapes and wild seacoasts.



We love this photo of the striking river tributaries




I enjoyed the flight


After and hour and half of flying, we neared Geographic Bay

The name was named by National Geographic, who sent an expedition to this area when it was still relative unexplored


Our cool shadow

When we were coming in for our landing we could see bears down on the waters edge right away - VERY exciting!!


Our plane


We took a little boat over to a beach where we would have our lunch before setting off to spot bears


Me in my waders


Having lunch – we had made ourselves some nice sandwiches that morning


Geographic Bay

After lunch, we took the boat to the other side of the bay, and then walked to our viewing point, a slightly raised grassy area just above the river


And straight away we spotted this mother and two cubs


The bears were in and out of the water catching salmon


Whenever she heard a noise, the mother bear stood up to check out what was going on. Male bears are dangerous because they sometimes go after cubs


Marching up the river


Hey – what’s going on over there?

They looked out for other bears – but took no notice of us. There was about 20 of us, seated all in a row, keeping quiet and thus the bears just kept their distance.


Brown bears – number about 40,000 in Alaska and are resident from the Southeast to the Arctic.

Look at those claws!!!

I thought it was an interesting fact that mother bears do not offer up food to their cubs. The cubs have to learn to go in and take a piece from her meal, or they won’t have anything to eat (they take years to learn how to catch salmon)


The cubs are not the best fisherman yet, so head scraps are a must!



The mum sharing her spoils.




Don’t they look like they are dancing? Cute!!



Two groups – each composed of one female and two cubs – came upon each other, but kept their distance


My foot by a bear print in the sand – now THAT is a big paw! The hind print of a large grizzly can be up to 10-12 inches!


Running to catch a salmon


GOT IT!


Murray – in Mr. Cameraman mode


Alaska brown bears are divided into two kinds, the smaller grizzlies of the Interior (who eat more vegetation) and the enormous brown bears of Southwest Alaska (who eat a high-protein fish diet).


They are not a true subspecies, however, and the size variations are due only to the differences in their diet.


My boots & a bear – so you can see JUST how close they were to us!!


Murray had SUCH an amazing time taking photos

Birds are not usually the diet! ha!

Active in summer, many bears become dormant in winter, retreating to dens and living on fat reserves. Cubs are often born during dormancy.


These bears are adept at catching fish with a swift snap of their huge jaws


Occasionally they will pin a fish underwater with its forepaws, then thrust its head underwater to clasp the catch in its teeth





Now THIS is an amazing photo – notice the fish jumping in the foreground as the bear runs full speed ahead towards it


Another great bear & fish photo – they really just have no chance of escaping



Going in for the kill


Yummy

The salmon lipstick mark was always a dead give away to the wife! DOH!





A face off




Such a lovely face

Click on this pic and look at that desperate face on the fish!

In winter, Grizzlies put on a layer of fat, as much as 400 pounds worth.


Much of that weight comes from eating LOTS of salmon. The skin is very important for its fat content.






When salmon migrate upstream to spawn, these normally solitary bears congregate along rivers.




Sometimes vicious fights may erupt among them


More often, they establish dominance through size and threats


Spacing themselves out, with the largest, most aggressive individuals taking the choicest stations


Just a LITTLE bit of droop



And – some fresh bear scat – full of berries & fish




He got in a bit too deep & had trouble climbing back onto the bank.The shot does show their muscular shape under the fluffy stuff!




Nature in it’s finest – the fight for survival




Birds also were around, waiting to pick on the leftovers


AND finally time to relax a little and let the food settle
Now its time to look for the next fish. It's NON-STOP eating!


Talk about TIMING! Ahhhhh stupid bird! This would have been a great shot!




Fish tail soup anyone?







The seagulls loved the salmon brain appetizers.




Black bears measure and average 5 feet in length, and are the smallest of the Alaskan bears (white, brown and black). These predominantly vegetarian bears are found everywhere in Alaska except the Arctic tundra and the Aleutian Islands


We sat there for four hours – absolutely amazed! It was the best wildlife viewing experience we have ever had!


Murray was careful to keep his camera gear up out of the water – ahhh THAT is why we had to wear such high waders!


We were sad to leave, but it really was SUCH an amazing experience. Our guide said that we saw about 13-15 different bears today – amazing.



Then it was back to the Homer Spit


After our long day, we couldn’t bear cooking, so went to the Homer Spit for fish & chips


Sadly, they were WAY overpriced and not very nice (we had halibut & rockfish)


After checking out the shops a bit we spotted these cute guys about to drive off

Day 297 – August 21

We slept in a bit, still exhausted from the previous day, but eventually made it to the grocery store to stock up. Then we headed north out of Homer.


on the way we spotted this amazing eagle sitting in a tree by the road


Gosh he was gorgeous








Next stop was in the small Russian village of Ninilchik


We walked up a hill to see…

This photogenic onion-domed church offers with great views across the inlet


This traditional Russian-era Native village, whose name means ‘peaceful riverside place,’ is centered around the 1901 Transfiguration of Our Lord Church.


The tiny town


We loved this cute cabin on the hill – made with Dovetail Joints! HOW BIZARRE?

Then we drove on to Seward, arriving around 4 – meeting my aunt & uncle at our accommodation


Murray & uncle Kevin


Joni & Me at our cabin


Then we broke out our road grill and BBQed the steak and chicken skewers we had bought earlier


Me, Joni & Kevin waiting for the food with our lovely Alaska ale


Yummmmm


We had a nice dinner along with great margaritas and jack daniels and coke, and then went to bed early in preparation for our early start tomorrow!

Day 298 – August 22


We were up at 6 and in the office and ready to go by 7


Unfortunately, the captain we were supposed to have had to go out with his group from the previous day again, because they had had SUCH a bad day of fishing (all day and only 3 salmon).


So, we waited around to hear what would happen to us….

And it turned out we were now assigned to Captain Al’s boat. He didn’t give a great first impression – not knowing what kind of tour we had booked (salmon & halibut fishing) and then going into a tirade about how it would be impossible to catch salmon today because of weather that was coming in. Ummmmm ok? We were all a bit wary of him, but happy that it was only the four of us on the boat + captain Al.


Finally it was time to go and find the best fishing spots!


Isn’t Joni’s new hat cute? I was so cold I had my hat AND my hood on!


On the way out we saw some porpoises playing. Captain Al went close enough that they came and jumped along in our wake as we drove away – so cute. We also went by a rock island that was covered in sea lions, sea otters and puffins – very cool.

Then it was time to FISH!



Kevin & Joni catching fish!!


Joni was the first to catch a fish – a great big silver salmon!!!

(Minutes after we got out on the water, Captain Al heard on the radio that the weather forecast had changed, so we did go after salmon after all).


He’s a biggie!


And then Kevin caught one


Me by the fish – no I was not going to touch them


You want me to hold him where?


Murray with his big catch


Captain Al whacking fish in the head to kill them (gross)


Kevin banging on them as well with the club, just to make sure of the kill.


Then it was MY turn to catch a fish!

They told me I had to hold it – as you can tell I was NOT happy to stick my hand up in his slimy gills


Quick, quick take a photo - ewwwwwwww (this was worse than eating guinea pig – I kid you not)


But I did it – held it up all on my own (for the first and last time!)


The water was SO deep – you really had to put the line down far to catch anything

We all caught our limit of 3 salmon each quite quickly



Murray catching a salmon


Although Kevin wasn’t all to pleased with his size.


But THEN he caught a halibut! fantastic!


Mo the fisherwoman. I don’t particularly enjoy fishing, but actually it was a really fun day – I guess the variety of kinds of fish, sites & lures helped.


I GOT ONE!


Captain Al got his net right in there to help me out


Me by the bloody cooler of fish (ewwwwwwwwwwww). They have to bleed them out so that they meat doesn’t discolor.


They were big fish – as you can tell by this comparison to Murray’s hand


Joni was our real champ – she caught the most of every kind of fish!


But I did my best!


Murray even caught this odd fish – which Captain Al said to leave ON his hook, to try to hook a ling cod (these fish are their favorite snack)


And wouldn’t you know – he GOT one!


This stubborn ling cod chomped on to the smaller fish, and just wouldn’t let go, even as we pulled him up into the boat! Click on the pic to see clearly that the LING cod is not hooked but intensely stubborn. This is what they do apparently.



Captain Al said he was too SMALL to keep though! Huh? Looks big to me!


Impressive looking fish



Me & Murray fishing


Murray put the small fish back into the water again, hoping to catch another ling cod – and boy did he ever – the thing pulled so hard on his line it felt like a large animal had latched on


Go go go!


He reeled and reeled, but eventually the giant ling cod’s teeth cut the line


But he did manage to hook a skate later on


Don’t his lips look funny? Of course we didn’t keep him


He was HUGE!


Get that hook OUTTA ME!


Murray showing Kevin & I how big (he thinks) his ling cod was


After a long day at sea (we got back in at 6:30 pm), we got back to the dock and it was time to count our catch


Kevin helped to clean off our fish for our photo





Murray, Me, Joni & Kevin with our 12 salmon, 5 halibut & 16 black bass – not bad!


Kevin and Murray helped clean the fish while Joni and I went to pick up dinner supplies


Then we had a HUGE fish fry up – salmon, halibut AND cod – all in one meal!

We ate until we had fish coming out of our ears that evening – it was great – what a fantastic day!

Day 299 – August 23

Today we slept in a bit, and then hit the awful showers at the campground. I had SAP in my hair somehow (how? How?) which was impossible to get out, and the showers were long hoses which you had to hold and point at yourself – so annoying!

But, eventually we all got clean (all but the stubborn sap in my hair which I continued to work out), and drove into town to explore the Sea Life Center.


The Alaska Sealife Center is located on the lovely Resurrection Bay waterfront in Seward.


It initially was conceived as a coldwater marine research and rehabilitation facility to study and protect sealife and provide public education – especially in the aftermath of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.


It was opened in 1998.


Underwater viewing windows allow visitors to look at a variety of creatures in naturalistic habitats.


















Seabird habitat houses a selection of bird species that inhabit the islets of the Gulf of Alaska. Diving seabirds are visible in the tank in the Windows to the Sea exhibit below.
Windows to the Sea – allows close-up views of fish, harbor seals, octopuses, and Woody, an affable Stellar sea lion.


Woody loved coming right up to the windows to say hello






They also had an amazing display or colorful jellyfish









Next we went into town to explore (after having an AMAZING fish and chips lunch at a small local café – fresh & fantastic)!


Murray & Kevin found these massaging seats and we had to drag them out of there when we were ready to go!


Next stop was the impressive Exit Glacier


Us by the entrance sign!


The glacial water on the walk up to the base was FREEZING cold!


Me, Joni & Kevin


Murray & I making our way up the path


Us at Exit Glacier


It is 2,500 feet high and 3 miles long, and is the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park which is accessible by road (and a small hike)


Pouring down from Harding Icefield, it is the most readily accessible walk up glacier in Alaska.


Us at the glacier base!


And Me, Murray & Joni with the view of the glacial river


Joni & Kevin – we were so excited that they came to join us for part of our trip!


On the path we also saw a black bear climbing up a tree quite close to the path – that was exciting!

After exploring the glacier, we went stopped at a restaurant called the salmon bake – whose slogan was ‘Cheap beer and Lowsy food.’ Ha!


The beer was semi cheap – but GOOD!


We liked that they served it up in jam jars


We had a nice Alaskan Pale Ale


Along with our drinks, we got the LAST pickle out of the pickle barrel (they had a HUGE barrel from which you could just go grab one!) We also had some lovely appetizers – jalapeño poppers and buffalo wings – fabulous.

Day 300 – August 23

We got up fairly early, but it took us two hours to pack everything back into the truck properly. We found a parking spot for Dolph, and then headed off in Joni & Kevin’s rental car to the trailhead where we would begin our hike. But first, we stopped off in Seward for a nice big breakfast to give us some energy – it was excellent!


Murray and I at the trailhead to the Resurrection Pass Trail


Me, Kevin & Joni


We were on the trail by 12:30 and excited to get going!


Murray & I with our bags- they are small, but still heavy!


The trail begins at the Kenai River along the Sterling Highway – it’s a really gorgeous trail


The beginning of the hike wasn’t too difficult


But then we saw THIS – bear scat – and it looked FRESH! We continued with our yelling, loud singing and clapping around every blind corner as we knew there were bears out there!


Stopping for a drink and snack break


The hike climbs through spruce forest into a sub alpine zone – it is 38 miles in all, but we just hiked to…


Trout Lake – which is about 7 miles in


It took us about 3 ½ hours to get to this point because a lot of it was uphill so we were VERY glad when we finally saw the sign to Trout Lake!


And finally – just a small hike in – we came to our cabin! It is a forest service public use cabin that we had to reserve ahead of time


Kevin & Murray relaxing at our cabin – finally a rest for their weary feet!


Then we walked down to the lake to check it out – Murray decided a relaxing feet soak was in order


He convinced Joni & I to come in too – such a gorgeous surrounding!


Then we took the little rowboat that comes with the cabin rental out to explore the lake a bit


Murray was working hard helping Kevin row ….. as you can tell


Joni and I were the directors – ROW ROW ROW!


Eventually Murray offered to help out though

We rowed around for a bit, watched a float plane take off right over our heads, enjoyed stalking some loons in our rowboat, and THEN we noticed a guy standing on the shore where we had set off in our boat!! We hadn’t expected anyone to come by, so all our valuables were up in the cabin unsecured!!! We hurried back and the guy was gone, and all of our stuff was still there – so that was a huge relief!


We decided that it was then time for a campfire – Joni displayed her taffy making from marshmallows skill


YUMM marshmallows!!


Kevin roasting marshmallows in our little fire


Then we broke our little booze bottles that we had brought along to celebrate making it to the cabin – the boys loved their little Jack Daniels bottles


CHEERS!


Tiny – but cute


We all had a little bottle – but Joni and I had the NICE ones – amaretto – fabulous!


Then the bugs started coming out, so we headed inside to cook some dinner! (pasta with tuna – not bad!)


Then there really wasn’t much else to do, so we laid down to go to sleep. Kevin and I had the narrow top bunks on either side of the room – it was kinda scary to roll over!

We laid up for a bit talking from our bunks and then tried to get some sleep. It felt like sleeping on a wooden board – oh wait – it WAS a wooden bed!

Day 301 – August 25


Up early for a granola bar, apples and coffee breakfast – then it was off again!


Murray scared Kevin by throwing a rock near him – which he thought was an animal (made me jump too)! Although, it was deserved, since Kevin did the same to us yesterday – nearly making me scream out in fear! Ha
Kevin also scared us again later by farting – which we thought was the sound of a bear coming from the distance – skittish anyone? lol

Arctic Cotton!


We stopped for a quick peek at this 80 foot waterfall on the way back – gorgeous


Me, Waterfall, Murray

We got back to the car in three and a half hours – in good time! We then drove to a local café and had a great lunch (pulled pork sandwich and a burger – fab). Then we drove back to Millers Landing where Dolph was patiently waiting for us, and checked into our cabin. The boys went into town to sort out the smoking and shipping of the fish back to Minnesota, while Joni and I threw a few loads of clothes in.

We ended up having 105 pounds of filleted fish! WOW! Kevin chose to have some of it smoked in a number of flavors and the rest just frozen. It would all be shipped together once the smoking was complete.

We all met up in town later for a bit of shopping and wifi at a café to check our email.

Considered to have one of Alaska’s most scenic locations, Seward is also known for its saltwater salmon fishing and its access to Kenai Fjords National Park. Although the Russians set up a fish yard here in 1793, the town was founded in 1903 by John Balline, who decided that its deepwater port would be an ideal location for a railhead. The railway came to function in 1923, and Seward thrived, but the 1964 earthquake destroyed most of the town, however Seward was rebuilt.


On the way back we spotted this CUTE sea otter playing around in the water near the road
We then headed back to our cabin for a one hour power nap, before continuing on with our tourist activities!

CUTE!!

That evening we had a lovely snacky dinner – some smoked fish Kevin had bought from the place that would smoke our fish (fabulous!!) and some veggies, crackers, dill dip – just perfect!

Kevin is using his laptop to try and zoom in on his otherwise hard to see fish for Murray's viewing pleasure. A lot of squinting involved.

No really...
Later that evening Kevin showed Murray his computer program that keeps track of all of their finances – very interesting. We use a complicated (but excellent) spreadsheet that Murray created, but it was cool to see the kind of reports a program could create at a click of a button!

Day 302 – August 26

We got up early and had Dolph packed and ready to go by 7.


Then we hit the road to drive to Denali.


The drive really is GORGEOUS!


We stopped at a river to get a photo of all the fisherman – however, today there wasn’t as many as we saw fishing the other day


We came across a guy with a rental motor home that needed a jump, so Kevin used his car and our cables to jump the guy (they had been there since early morning so were thrilled that we were willing to help them out)

We stopped briefly in Anchorage at Wal-Mart to return some stuff and stock up on necessities.


We stopped around 2 at the cute town of Talkeetna & had a GREAT lunch there!


I was thrilled to have a nice big salad and a lovely soup – nice change from our daily sandwiches


Then we had a look about town – there is some lovely artwork about – I loved this mosaic moose


Then of course we got some ice cream – the moose tracks was fabulous!

Talkeetna, meaning ‘meeting of the rivers’ in the local Athabaskan language began in 1896 as a trading post. It was touristy – but still had a bit of that pioneer charm


We stopped at the South and North view points hoping to see Mount McKinley – but it just wasn’t meant to be. It was way too cloudy to see the mountain at all.

Eventually we arrived at our destination – Denali Cabins around 8pm and had a nice relaxing early night.

Day 303 August 27

We were up at 5am, breakfast at 5:30, and on the bus for our tour by 6.

Our driver – Barry Gray – then drove us around to pick up people from other hotels before setting off into the park.


Alaska’s top attraction, the expansive Denali National Park sprawls across 9,420 square miles (which is larger than the entire state of New Hampshire!)


Just one road penetrates the backcountry. This single route is only accessible by shuttle bus (or private tour bus – which is what we did). It crosses the open tundra, boggy lowlands, and mountain passes to wind up at beautiful Wonder Lake.


Murray, Me & Joni at the first viewpoint stop


At each stop the driver would open up the back and we could pick from a selection of teas, coffee, hot chocolate and cider mix to add to hot water in the cute Denali cups they gave us. Back on the bus we could complement our drinks with a selection of cookies, crackers and nuts – fab!


Our first grizzly bear spotting – way in the distance – but still VERY exciting!


The road offers amazing views of the colorful tundra and surrounding mountain peaks


Kevin, Me & Joni with a striking view of Denali National Park


The Denali National Park Road leads 85 miles into the heart of the park – with some QUITE steep parts cut right into the side of mountains – scary!


The glacial runoff creates these interesting rivers


In 1794, Captain George Vancouver sailed into the upper Cook Inlet, which serves as Mount McKinley’s drainage basin; and noted ‘…distant, stupendous mountains covered with snow’ He was likely the first westerner to lay eyes on Mount McKinley. However, a clear day to view the mountain is rare, and we didn’t see it at all!!


At the Eielson Visitor Center we managed a quick look at these lovely foxes


And then – we spotted this massive moose eating away in the tundra


Moose are the largest of the deer family, and also the larges animal found in Denali


Spotting two males together is so rare – first time we have seen that on this entire trip!!!


Large males, called bulls, often weight more than 1,000 pounds


We also saw caribou; the Old World domesticated reindeer made famous by the Santa Claus legend!


Caribou are the only members of the deer family in which both male and female have antlers


Although there are hundreds of caribou in Denali, their roving disposition makes them relative elusive to view – we knew we got quick lucky


Eventually we arrived at the end of the road – Wonder Lake! It usually has an amazing view of Denali – just behind those clouds – the reflection in the still waters of the lake is meant to be amazing. Ah well – it was still a gorgeous view.


We drove on a bit further until we could see down into the sister cabins of the place we were staying at – the Denali Backcountry Lodge

There we were treated to an excellent buffet lunch (fabulous soup, and great sandwich/salad bar – lovely).

Then we went on a little guided walk to see the famous Fanny McCray’s cabin

Murray and I walking to the cabin (had to take the big camera with – we weren’t about to leave it on that bus!!)

We took a look around the cute little cabin that the notorious Fanny McCray lived in for years. It really is a desolate place to live – this little ‘town’ called Kantishna which is 7 miles past Wonder Lake


Once we got back on the bus to head back out of the park we had this AMAZING spotting – a red fox


Luckily the driver was nice enough to let Murray come and sit on the entrance steps to our old school bus so that he could take photos right out the door (we weren’t allowed to leave the bus or hang out of the windows)


Gosh isn’t he cute?




Later we spotted this gorgeous baby moose eating water vegetation near her mother in a pond


About 2,000 moose roam around on the north side of the Alaskan Range


They also eat willow leaves


In the winter, moose eat leafless twigs and branches


We also saw a group of three beavers working away dragging huge branches back to their home in preparation for winter


Denali Park’s raw and awesome wilderness really does make you gasp at the beauty – stunning


These grouse were amazingly camouflaged


Quite a beautiful bird, it turns completely white in winter.


Our driver said at one of our stops that if we ‘wanted to be geeks’ we could go try on the antlers at the rest stop – so of course Joni and I got right out there!!

Fighting over the last bus cookie

Kevin showing us JUST how gigantic one moose antler can be – wow

This was an amazing spotting – a blonde on top and dark underneath grizzly bear with her two cubs.

Grizzlies weight up to 600 pounds
300-350 grizzly bears live in the park, on the north side of the Alaska Range


These grizzlies eat roots, berries, bulbs, tubers and fresh vegetation early in the season. They also eat ground squirrels, caribou, moose and sheep.


They hibernate form October to April


Tundra retains heat, keeping temperatures 20 to 30 degrees warmer than the air above, enabling upwards of 400 plant species to survive Denali’s long, brutal winters.


The single narrow road through the park, completed in 1937, strictly limits how many private vehicles can drive down it (you have to be a professional, published photographer to get a pass – we’ll come back and do that some day for sure).


On the way out we spotted another of the ‘Top 5’ – Dall Sheep.

The idea for a park in this region began in 1906, when Charles Sheldon arrived to study Dall Sheep. He was concerned with the sheep’s’ survival in the face of heavy hunting, and thus developed the concept for a park. There are around 2,500 sheep in the park (usually quite hard to spot as they mostly live in the distant alpine slopes)


One last amazing close up view of a moose


He still had some velvet hanging off of his antler


And one last group picture at the end of our 14 hour Denali Tour Day!!!

So, all in all – it was AMAZING! We saw the entire Wildlife Big Five –
Grizzly Bears
Moose
Caribou
Wolves (we saw one briefly when we first drove into the park)
and Dall Sheep

We also saw snoeshoe hares, red foxes, other foxes, beavers, etc

We also had a fantastic guide, who not only drove us around but had a nearly non stop commentary for the entire trip. He had an amazing amount of facts and stories in his head. One story we loved as that of Benny Benson.

In 1926, George Parks, the governor of Alaska, asked schoolchildren to submit ideas for a state flag with essays explaining their design. Of the 142 entries submitted, the judges’ unanimous choice was that of Benny Benson, a 13-year-old Alutiiq boy who lived at Seward’s Jesse Lee Orphanage. Benson’s essay explained that the flag’s blue field represented the Alaska sky as well as the forget-me-not, the sate flower. The North Star stood for the future State of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union, while the Great Bear constellation (the big dipper) symbolized strength.

Also, Joni’s jokes were great (what is a sheep’s house called? A dall house; what’s a baby Denali sheep called? A dalli lama; etc etc) Very funny at the time – I assure you

Also, the story of the wood frog was very interesting. The park’s lone amphibian, the wood frog spends the cold arctic winter months frozen solid in layers of muck. They use cryoprotectant chemicals to survive freezing temperatures. Throughout the entire winter, hibernating frogs are inanimate; they don’t breathe and their hearts don’t beat. They can survive temperatures as low as -54 f. Amazing.


After finishing up in the park, we drove into town for some lovely beer and AWESOME fish and chips – really fabulous – with sweet potato fries – yummm.

Day 304 – August 28

We got up for the nice buffet breakfast again, and then set off to the Denali Park Visitors Center. We only JUST made the 9:20 bus to the park’s dog kennels.


We went there to see the sled dog demonstration and meet to meet the dogs!


One of the Alaskan huskies who works for one of the park’s sled dog teams


This guy was keeping and eye on Joni and I as we took photos of another dog


They each have their own house and area and are very approachable


Doesn’t this guy look like a polar bear!!

The type of sleds they use in the winter to patrol the park when the road is closed


Some of the dogs are kept in kennels – usually just the young puppies and in heat females


When they took a few of the dogs out to show us how they work as a team pulling a sled they got VERY excited – barking away like they saw a bear or something!


Coming around the corner the two dogs in the back had a little disagreement and nearly tipped the sled over! (this sled has wheels on it so it can be used on gravel for the demonstration)


When the demonstration run was over the dogs laid down to rest a bit (a few were given rawhide bones to chew on if they were known ‘rock chewers’ hmmmm. We did see a few of them eating rocks actually!)


Murray took his turn at guiding a sled dog team as well


Oh ok – they were all tied up and relaxing – kinda sad that they didn’t all get rawhides bones though! Not fair!


Then we did the 15 mile drive into the park (the furthest you can go without a permit)


and saw this huge bull on a dried up river bed








Coming back towards town Murray got a shot of this gorgeous bridge through the Denali area




The group at the Denali entrance sign

Then it was lunch time, so we drove up to the Crow’s Nest area to a restaurant we had heard was good. Unfortunately though, they said there was only 5 days left in the season so they had a VERY limited menu.


Us from the Crow’s Nest balcony


So, we just had a glass of ale instead, and then went back down into town


We went to ‘Denali’s World Famous Salmon Bake’ restaurant – this sign over the door was quite funny


Us at the table


They had cute old time signs as decoration in the restaurant



Kevin’s meal – a fabulous cedar baked piece of salmon

Murray and I both had amazing halibut tacos – yummy yummm yummmmm


Later we went shopping and Joni & I got attacked by this bear


Then it was time for the dinner theater we had booked (with an all you could eat salmon & ribs meal that we had totally forgot about when we ate a big lunch – opps!!)


One of the characters in the show offered ‘kisses for a buck’ so of course we waved a buck up in the air for Kevin to get one of the first smooches


Murray got quite upset when I went to hold up a buck over his head, but Joni had one too – so we got the lady to come and smooch Murray TWICE! (doesn’t it look like she’s holding him in a head lock? He he)



HE was just a LITTLE embarrassed

The show was fun, with singing waiters, lots of good family style food and a fun show at the end. A lovely night.


On the way back to the hotel we spotted this huge grizzly by a river bed.







And we stopped to take a picture in front of this Denali sign that we thought was much prettier than the other one

Day 305 – August 29

Today we got up early so that we could have breakfast with Joni & Kevin before they headed off to drive the 5 hours south back to Anchorage (They were flying out the next morning very early).

After sad goodbyes (we had SUCH a great time with them), we stayed in the room until checkout – enjoying some TV and taking one last nice hot shower, and then we had breakfast again before it closed (hey – why not)! Then we went to the relaxation room where they had a bunch of tables set up so we could use the wifi for a few more hours and do some trip planning before we hit the road. We finally headed out at about 1:30 and drove East on the Denali Road.


The views were amazing


The road was mostly gravel, but no big deal compared to the Dalton Highway


We saw a lot of ponds caused by the permafrost not allowing water to sink into the earth







We had amazing views of the Alaska Range during the drive – it was SO gorgeous


Untouched land as far as we could see – one of the amazing things about driving in Alaska


Me & Murray with the Alaska Range



The only people we saw along the road were hunters parked here and there
Us & the Alaska Range





We love this stunning panoramic photo (click on it to see it larger)





The road was 120 miles of rough, dirt roads


But the spectacular view definitely made it worth it





We stopped for dinner in the tiny town of Paxton and had some lovely homemade chicken soup


Real chicken – yummm – nice change from the canned stuff

We also had a huge piece of lasagna which we shared. Just a perfect warm meal to keep us going for a few more hours!


Outside we spotted this outrageous truck with massive tractor like wheels!


I asked the guys if it was for driving through the tundra. They laughed and said tundra was just a fancy word the rangers use for swamp! They use it to go our hunting along the Denali Highway.

SO, we drove on towards Tok on the road called the Tok cut-off. It was pitch black by then, and we spotted a female caribou in the road JUST in time!

We also had another owl in the middle or the road scare! They must sit there for the warmth & ease of catching rodents on the pavement? All I know is we don’t see them until the last minute and hit the brakes as they fly off – freaky! We also saw a red fox run in front of us – this was like the crazy late night wildlife show – we loved it! All except for the poor huge rabbit that Dolph accidentally killed – opps!

Just after midnight Murray captured these amazing sunset photos


We drove until midnight when we finally arrived in Tok. We found a spot to park and sleep, and crawled into the back exhausted.

Day 306 – August 30

We slept in a bit, had a quick breakfast, and then briefly popped into the Tok visitors center (we had got a lot of advice from them on the way in, and they asked us to stop back by on our way out of Alaska and tell us how our trip went and whether we got to see any wild musk ox).


Then we set off for the border


The changing colors along the drive were lovely



Murray was excited to spot this hawk along the way



Ahhhh we really do appreciate good paved roads now


Stunning

Dolph was sad to leave Alaska, it was ...

Amazing !!!