Day 13: Denali to Palmer, AK

254 miles

10:15 AM-4:50 PM

Thank you, Lord, List:

Moose sighting on trail

That the moose stayed calm and didn’t charge

Spectacular roadside views of “the Mountain”

Quiet of Denali State Park for our picnic lunch

Washing machines at the B&B

Rain stopped long enough to get our laundry

We rose to a rainbow in the mist outside our window. It's faint in this view of the hotel, perched half way up a mountain.

I almost didn’t go hiking because of the mist, but when Steve went out, he saw that the mist was pretty local. So at the last minute I dashed for the shuttle, forgetting both my walking stick and the bear spray. I did a short walk near the Visitor Center (Taiga to Rock Creek to Mountain View to Roadside Trails) so I could get back and meet Steve and Mom at 10. The sunlight through the aspens and the wildflowers were lovely. 

I stopped for a breakfast of granola bar and dry fruit (no tea since I ran off at the last minute! L ) at this overlook on Mountain View.

I was approaching the junction of Mountain View and Roadside when I saw movement ahead. I wished I had that bear deterrent spray! But it wasn’t a bear. It was a moose! But still way too close for comfort. I guess they charge if they feel threatened. I had no intention of threatening, but she didn’t know that. We’ve been told that if the animals know a human is approaching, they leave and that voices are more effective at communicating that it’s a human than bells or whistles, which might be birds. (This is taken with zoom. Not THIS close.)

I called out in as calm a voice as I could muster, “I’m over here, so you probably want to go a different way.”

The moose never stopped munching, but he moved further up the trail around a curve to the right. Then another moose came up the mountainside and followed him. And another! They never acknowledged me, but I just kept talking and telling them how much I appreciated their going that way instead of toward me. (And telling the Lord, too!) Eventually, I followed, since that was the trail I was on. They had moved off to the right into the woods, and I took this video.

What a crowning moment of our time at Denali! I met Mom and Steve at the Visitors’ Center and we watched a gorgeous movie that inspired us all to want to see the place in autumn and in winter, and headed out.

The road to Anchorage follows the edge of the park for quite a ways and we got some more great views of “The Mountain”. 

But clouds closed in before the last overlook and I fear new arrivals may not see the mountain at all.

Picnic lunch at Denali State Park.

Lots of road construction delays. There simply is no other road for a detour and even for locals to take alternate routes to avoid the back ups. There is one road. Period.

Staying in a lovely efficiency in the basement of a house, but there is a baby crying plus footsteps overhead and running water that will probably keep Steve awake.

We went to a restaurant for a change and Mom and I split a plate of grilled Alaskan halibut. Melt in your mouth good.

Afghan update:

Day 11: Delta Junction to Delani, AK

233 miles
8:15-2:15

Thank you, Lord, list:
beautiful place to stay
early morning light on mountains
Mom safely arrived
meeting Smiths
spectacular view from hotel
fun night of music and laughter

As we pulled away this morning, Steve said, "This is probably the nicest place we have ever stayed." (The snow-covered mountains in the background sort of faded out in the picture.) Lovely cottage, garden, views, nice breakfast, interesting people. He fantasized opening a B&B in Alaska the whole way to Fairbanks. Trouble is neither of us has the fix it skills.

I spotted a moose but it was behind a fence with a pile of road construction gravel so I'm not entirely sure it was really free-roaming, but why would road construction people keep a moose?

The Alaska pipeline passes close to the road just north of there.

Fairbanks was a blah Midwestern town, but we did pick up Mom no problem. Here she is stuck waiting for road construction. Sounds like Minnesota, doesn't it? But given the condition of un-repaired parts of the road, we didn't complain about road work.

We stopped for a bathroom and bought a hamburger to pay for the use of facilities. Just as we were buckling up to leave someone stopped by the car, drawn by the Minnesota license plate. Larry Smith and his wife Beth who joined us when her husband failed to come into the restaurant turned out to be former residents of Blaine, Minnesota. They are headed to Kenya with Bruce Dahlman's program to set up medical training there. Very small world. Beth gave me her can of bear spray to carry with me tomorrow hiking.

And here is where we will be tonight, outside Denali National Park. Breath-taking!

Steve got picked to be the "bad guy" with the evil laugh in tonight's skit at our dinner theater event. Here's the video:

 Afghan update: