ALASKA baby, ALASKA.
68 degrees and sunny!
The northern most border crossing in our northern most state. there was even a worker from Texas at the border.
It was an amazing day....clear skies, fresh air, amazing views. [the road to this point was drudgery. the experience of leaving behind a strong bitter taste into a new landscape was with us as we parted from Dawson City. crossing the border was the realization of that moment. from bitter to tasty. mmmm, Alaska.]
And then we came up with 10 reasons why Alaska is cooler than Canada:
1.Beer is cheaper
2.Its real beer
3.No more of that crazy Eh talkin
4.Less RVers
5.the highest mountain in North America
6.It contains 5,ooo miles worth of islands
7.Its part of America....The America, thanks mr. seward, no folly here.
8.The expensive food is at least good and 2x portions.
9.Chicken, Alaska
10.Suicidal Bunnies
Chicken. Chicken, Alaska. What an amazing place. Everyone should get laid there.
We were then on our way to Delta Junction [and bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, EVERYWHERE. all tempting fate on the side of the road. they all must have been so full of life, they were tiring of it. inches from the tire they would hop, then back into the bush on the side of the road. 20 or so had an adrenaline rush before....] and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a bunny suicide. [sigh.] Chris was driving....thank god I don't have that on my conscience! [it was a sad moment, a bunny jumped out in front of the car, landed in the middle of the front, as we passed over it, i looked back in the rearview, and there were; unfortunately, no survivors.] There must have been at least 20 bunnies on the side of the road in a 3 second time span.
I guess they are screwing like rabbits up in here! [apparently it is for the best, with their live life, taste death attitude...jeeez, maybe they are australian bunnies.]
We made it to Delta Junction and were really peckish, so stopped in a roadside dive where we both fell in love.....with some halibut. Oh lordie was it fantastic.....soft, moist, not too fishy and delicious.
So Chris likes to call ahead and reserve places for us to stay....[after cori stressing like carbon being made into diamond about not having places to stay...i started calling places.] so he calls up this one place on his fancy phone and reserves us a room. Then after driving for about 15 minutes outside of town, in the middle of nowhere, I began to get a little worried....then we saw the sign....The Country Inn B&B.....well, they were not lying about the country part! This nice lady ushered us to our house....nobody else was there, so we had free reign....how nice it was to be in a house! Then she brought over this fantastic breakfast...i would say the best breakfast we have had on the trip....some omelet concoction with BACON and a giant slice of coffee cake ....chris kept trying to steal my cake....he has quite the sweet tooth...I, on the other hand, am sweet enough as it is.
Then I went to the main building to pay, and well, it was some kind of church with a huge kitchen and 2 old ladies a singin and a cookin up a storm. They gave us some Jesus coffee....Jesus was it bitter!
We decided to take the scenic route to Denali National Park by heading down the Denali Highway....we have now discovered that “scenic” must mean dirt road in some other language.
scenic: dirt road with lots of potholes and a washboard -like surface that is never driven down, therefore is deemed “scenic”.
not really...it was not so bad, and the scenery was really nice...but we were happy to hit the pavement.
and here we are Miss Sunniebee. Denali.
The Denali has reached Denali !!!!!!
4,938.5 miles, and we are here....in one piece....we have refrained from killing one another (but still have a ways to go)....and wine is cheap again!!!! yeah. [the denali np store is the cheapest store in alaska.]
So far the bear count is 11. That is, we have seen 11 bears on the side of the road (4 of those were cubbies).
So we pull up to the information center to get our camp spot for the night, and lo and behold....there were 2 more Texas plates in the parking lot. One was a mini cooper packed to the brim with crap. Me and Chris looked at one another and said.... heeeeell no..... that would have been us in my car.... thanks again mom! (although their trip is probably costing them half what it is costing us)...oh well....this is livin.
Chris decided to call ahead again early that morning to see which campsites were open in the park, and once again we lucked out and got a slot at Wonder Lake. (sometimes it pays to be a planner) [we really lucked out on that one...usually it requires a 6 month advance booking to reserve a spot there..]It is a nice campsite at the end of the road in Denali next to the lake, and if you are really lucky, you might get that amazing shot of Mt. McKinley with its reflection on the lake. (We were not that lucky) We woke every morning at 5:30 am , but did not get lucky enough for the reflection shot.
But lucky enough to see 2 momma grizzlies, 3 baby grizzlies, 1 golden eagle, 1 giant male moose, 1 caribou, 1 wolf (alpha), 2 red foxes, one beaver working away on his dam, and the freaking cutest thing ever.....a weasel. I dont know if you guys have ever seen a weasel, but oh my god, it was really THE cutest thing ever....look it up...short tailed red weasel....apparently they turn white, like so many animals here, in the winter.
We lucked out on the bus ride to the campsite and got Mona as our driver....she was awesome. We have decided that Denali is our favorite national park ever. Everyone (except this one cranky old smokin bus driver) was super nice. [and totally informed and enthusiastic about the park]
The crazy thing about Denali is that there are only about 4 trails in the park, and is therefore referred to as a trail-less park. Which means that you can just go off trampling wherever you like. In fact, they ask that you do not walk in a line....walk side by side, so that you do not create a trail.....Chris was really happy about this since he does not have to walk in front anymore. Then I thought on it a little more....hum, no trails....that means you need a topographical map and have to navigate your way around so as not to get lost in the wilderness with all of the grizzly bears and wolves and moose.....hum......navigate.....hum.....yeah, I don't think we are going hiking Chris....he happily concurred.
As most of you know, Cori and Directions don't really know one another very well, in fact, we are complete strangers. Then i thought of all those times me and my dad went tramping through colorado parks without trails and he would make me turn around and tell him how to get back to camp....but nahhhh....not this time.....not without the ol GPS. [Cori + City boy Chris on a hike with no trail equals a disgruntled rescue team in t-3 days.]
So the bus ride was stunning.... “the light is just amazing on those mountains” says Chris....so I made the bus driver pull over (as I have done 1,000 times so far) [she is thankfully exceptionally patient.] so that Chris could get a photo....which of course means that I am entitled to a print now......ha.
And then we rounded the mountain, and we saw her.....peaking out of the clouds....Mamma McKinley, or Denali....meaning “the great one” in native Athabaskan tongue.
What a sight she is....20,320 ft. So we are now in the 30% club....only 30% of people coming to the park actually get to see her....she sleeps a lot under a blanket of clouds, but she was alive, alert, awake, and enthusiastic this day. [30% is actually counting 24 hours out of every day...so apparently we are actually in the 10% club.]
There are so many mountains in Alaska that they don't name them all....too much paperwork i guess.
Lazy alaskans. [Most of the mountains surrounding Denali actually have no names!]
So camping at Wonder lake was pretty good....you know, we got to know the Alaskan state bird really well.....so well that Chris decided to write an Ode to it....here it is.
An Ode to the MOSQUITO:
needle piercing skin
all the blood therein
divine nectar of red
come and get thee fed
fly away your short days
between those with flesh
come and get your blood filled craze
after we leave our mesh
25 types of vampire
25 ways of crushing your empire
a fist, a hand,
a foot against the land
fly fly away quick
to a hidden place unmanned
for the ambrosia of sweet life
will overpower your fear of strife
although you come from the world
of pleasure and pain
that sweet sweet drug
will bring you back again
you risk all for living full
and with your multitude
you solidify your rule
through pestilence oh so cruel
one the precipice of death you hover
until my hand you discover
falls faster than you can find
your ever elusive cover
perhaps this is the life you choose
perhaps life has made the choice instead
either way,
i wish you were dead.
(but thanks for the fish, and the blueberries..ah balance)
Those damn things were ruthless....they bit me on the palm of my hand....the palm...and behind the ears...and on top of the head...on my scalp. I hate them!!!!!!!!! Thank god my dad bought me a mosquito head net years back.....I really never thought i would wear that thing, but it was absolutely necessary.
So Denali was everything we had hoped for and more...the more being a weasel....and about 50 mosquito bites. buggers...for real.
Just imagine a grand valley, whimsical mountains, meandering streams, and a lotta wildlife. a lotta.
Its pretty much fantastic...but I guess they say a picture is worth a thousand words.....
Bye Denali.....you were fantastico.
Talkeetna is a small sort of hippy town, well, filled with hippy type. We had an amazing breakfast at the Roadhouse (make sure to only order a half plate here folks), and it was on to our flight.
Captain Paul. What a good guy. The forecast was partially cloudy, but we went anyways. Flying, flying, flying along. where cars look like ants and everything is but a mere pattern down below.
[We began over the plains approaching the park, rivers and streams carved out by glaciation thousands of years ago. as we flew, the foothills outside of the windows slowly gained elevation, brandishing their barren rock, and hinting at the deep snows that continue to linger within the deep mountains. the abrupt change in landscape quickly became apparent once we passed into the southeast boundary of the park. as we passed the foothills, the landscape quickly changed. lakes, rivers and streams transformed into their former selves, ancient glaciers.
frigid cold, relentlessly pushing moraine down into the valleys below the glaciers push and pull the landscape as they slowly flow. the clouds obscured the high peaks and the sun occasionally revealed glimpses into the heart of the park. in these moments, we were able to see the seemingly endless mountain terrain, seemingly impenetrable except by plane, we were broaching an unknown territory...airborne and instantly miniscule. it was humbling and astounding.
as we climbed altitude and began to take note of the massive peaks surrounding us on either side of the plane, cori and i exchanged ecstatic glances. we were giddy, and smiling as both of us had rarely experienced an opportunity to see this raw landscape in such a unique way. both of us were overwhelmed and impressed.
And then i saw It.
Denali, the high one, came into view. clear as a bell through a din of noise, all else was put to rest beneath it.
Standing at over 20,300 feet, i had to tilt my head 45 degrees upwards, high above the surrounding mountains to view the summit. the apex was encircled by a wisp of a cloud that submitted to the height of the mountain. excitedly, i motioned to cori to look up and out the cockpit window in hopes that she could she what i was seeing. she did. her face lit up into a smile of amazement. it was a truly one of kind experience, and i'm thankful to have had it.]
Glacier landing what what?
We skied in the plane down a glacier...how cool is that? The plane had skis.....and we landed on a glacier. [so cool yep.] There was this guy from Cabo, mexico on the plane with us that had never before seen snow. And it was snowing up there.....he was in heaven....I made him make a snowball before we had to board again.
It was an amazing flight....here is a little clip i took.....
Then we were invited to the annual fiesta that Talkeetna Air Taxi (the company we went with) was throwing down that night. Whiskey Tango. Naturally it was a country theme....we felt right at home with all of the cowboy hats and chili....ummm chili. [cori wishes it was chile though.] did i mention free beer? yeah.....we stuck around for a while.....and met several people from Texas who have migrated there....basically I think a good portion of Texans have moved to Alaska...we keep meeting them...everywhere....and it is a little like Texas here....you know minus the mountains and sea life and green....a little like home.
And we also met the funniest guy in the world. Those new yorkers, you gotta love them. We got an ab workout that night. And saw our captain dressed in a full mariachi garb....he looked just like chevy chase from the 3 amigos....hilarious.
OH Talkeetna....good stuff.
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