Day 15: Palmer to Valdez, AK by ferry

110 miles driven (plus 90 miles by water)
7:45 AM-6:25 PM

Thank you, Lord, list:
Safe passage
agreeable shipmates and comfortable chairs
didn't rain ALL the time
waterfalls
sea caves
sea lions
orcas

We pushed to be off early this morning because we didn't know how much rush-hour traffic around Anchorage might hold us up. When Steve picked hotels via the Internet, he didn't realize how far north of the city Palmer was. (Our B&B was not cheap by any means, but less than places closer to the city. Steve was tempted to ask for a refund given the crying baby again last night.)

It took us maybe 5 or 10 minutes longer to get through Anchorage than it had yesterday mid-day so we arrived in Wittier way early. The Seward Highway south of Anchorage was spectacular and would have been more so if it hadn't been raining. It was lined with tantalizing signs for trails and photo spots we couldn't stop for. Mountains plunge straight into the sea like Norwegian fjords. Waterfalls tumble down the sides--waterfalls that I can't imagine anyone ever being able to walk to because of the steepness.

We had been told by the ferry company that we needed to make the 10:30 tunnel, whatever that meant. It turns out that the tunnel is one lane--that's literally one lane, not one lane each way. The directions take turns. The space is also shared by trains that have their turn. So the way in is 15 minutes out of every hour. If you miss it, you wait. Since we got through Anchorage so quickly, we arrived as the 9:30 cars were going through and never even stopped. The tunnel is rough hewn and two and a half miles long (the longest in North America.) Steve was not enthusiastic about driving on the railroad tracks, but I thought it was cool.

We had plenty of time to wait in the tiny village of Wittier. (By the way, fully half the town is parking lots, railroad and docks.) We had coffee in a tiny restaurant "downtown" between the parking lots and the sea. The servers wore Wellington boots. A sign on the wall said "Wittier girls (heart) rain" so I guess it rains a lot there.

We dodged the raindrops back to the car and went and sat in line for an hour and a half, but since we have been spending way more than that in the car on other days, it was no big deal. When the ferry arrived, we had a front row seat to watch it unload and the little tow cab back in and come out with semi-trailers.

It was nearly 1 PM when we loaded. We ate our pb&j in the lounge. Seats were more comfortable than airplanes by a mile. Besides, it was much easier to get up and walk around. My only complaint was that we discovered we weren't supposed to eat in the lounge. So to snack or sip my tea I was supposed to go to the cafeteria in the back. Not uncomfortable. Just a pain to have to move if I wanted tea. (I am normally never without a cup in front of me.)

Spectacular views of mountains, waterfalls, caves ...

sea lions (here on rocks) and orcas (too fleeting to photograph). 

Yes, it would have been even more spectacular if it hadn't been raining, but it was still awesome. Mom commented, "I know Alaska is part of the United States, but I still feel like I'm in a foreign country."

The town of Valdez is almost as small as Wittier. The oil refinery stuff is across the fjord. No crying baby tonight!

Afghan update: Lots of time to sit and knit while watching. But somewhere I made a major error that has thrown the pattern off. Sigh. I thought I had this down. It will take some thought to fix.

Tomorrow will be a long day in the car headed for Canada.

Day 14: Anchorage, AK

128 miles
10AM-2:30PM

Thank you, Lord, list:
A day to relax and catch up with e-mail
that it is only misty and not hard rain
a chance to stretch my legs
bike paths
unseen views

It's raining. Given the fabulous weather we have had, we have no right to complain. Yesterday as we drove into Palmer we could see the shadows and lower slopes of mountains on all sides. We had intended this for a laundry and regroup day, but since the B&B had coin washing machines, we threw stuff in last night to have the day free. But this morning even the shadows of mountains are invisible. We slept in, and didn't get going until 10. We had considered driving up route 1 through the mountains that we will miss by taking the ferry tomorrow, but the clouds make that pointless. So we drove to Anchorage just so we could say we had seen it.

The kids could do worse than be stationed here. It's a nice city. Lots of bike paths. Mom suggested, given their love of outdoor sports, that they would probably take up cross country skiing if they did live here. It's totally surrounded by sea and mountains to climb. We drove through the downtown and explored a couple neighborhoods along the shore. Houses are probably expensive, but not ostentatious. At Earthquake Park there was a panorama picture to identify points on the horizon, including Mt. McKinley (Denali). Yeah right. Here is the view of Anchorage from there. I think if it weren't raining, you would see mountains in the background.

Mom and Steve dropped me at the Coastal Trail and continued their explorations with a plan to meet up at Kincaid Park. The rain was off and on so most of the trail was viewed from beneath an umbrella.

Knowing they were waiting for me, I didn't dawdle. Of course, the distance was much longer than it appeared on the map. In the end it turned out to be about 4.5 miles. I had to remind myself I was hiking in Alaska--on an asphalt path...within sound of the airport...but IN ALASKA! Then I came upon this.

Definitely not Wisconsin.
And after 4.5 miles... Is that frisbee golf?!

Cold pizza for lunch leftover from Steve's dinner last night, some of the best he has ever had. Too bad Alaska isn't a foreign country. Naps, popcorn and a relaxing evening on the schedule!

Afghan update: No driving means no knitting. I was going to photograph it on a set of antlers I found here at the B&B, but they are outside and it is raining, so forget it.

Notes to self (and anyone else planning) on visiting Denali

End of May was a great time of year to come--long days, hardly any of those legendary mosquitos, and lots of baby animals to see.

The two things I had chosen on the internet that I most wanted to do turned out to be impossible because they are each day-long trips--Wonder Lake (to photograph the reflection of the mountain) and the Alpine hike from Eielson Visitor Center. The hike was only 2-21/2 hours, but what the internet neglected to say was that it takes 4 hours to get there and 4 hours back. What I need to do is to go to the Wilderness Access Center near the gate the day before and reserve space on the first bus. This involves buying a ticket. The ranger-guided walk is free, but the bus is not. Small wonder when you consider the distances. Even then, you aren't guaranteed the tour, because only 11 people are allowed. No way to sign up ahead of time. It is the first 11 to show up. The walk is rated difficult. I gather from our own wilderness tour that even if I didn't make the first eleven, there would be fascinating places to walk around the starting point. The park has no "stay on the path" rule. You can wander freely as far as you choose. The advantage of that would be determining my own level of difficulty. The disadvantage is not being pushed and not having the ranger's input. But the day would definitely not be wasted even if all one did was the bus trip.

Important info: The road to Eielson does not open until June 1, so this walk cannot be done in May. The road to Wonder Lake (photo op) does not open until June 8. That too involves a paid bus trip to the farthest end of the road. Therefore the optimum time to come to avoid mosquitoes, rain and crowds might be the first week in June, staying up to June 8 for Wonder Lake.

Any visitor should plan at least one trip beyond where the car can go (Savage River). I'm not sure any free shuttles go beyond that, so even if it is a green shuttle (hop-on-hop-off), it will involve paying, but well worth it. Awesome views of wilderness.

Lots of lodging options in the area. We wouldn't have to stay at an expensive place like Grand Denali, awesome as the views were. There are campgrounds, but we did not see any grills at picnic grounds although we have seen places where people have built camp fires. Bringing microwaveable meals and instant noodles as well as picnic stuff has worked well.

The autumn colors in the Denali park movie were awesome. There would be more mosquitos at the end of summer. And of course there are no Northern Lights in May when the sun barely drops below the horizon.

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 12 PM: Denali National Park

Fabulous afternoon of game and mountain viewing on the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Most of Denali National Park is wilderness, accessible only on foot or dog sled. There is only one road that goes a mere 80 miles into the vast wilderness and private cars are only allowed on a fraction of that. Access is by shuttle bus or tour. We chose to take a tour. The guide was extremely knowledgeable as well as personable. He promised to get us home by dark. In fact, it won't be dark before August. We got home at 10:30 PM and fell into bed--the reason you didn't get a blog post before this.

We saw a moose before we ever got out of the traffic jam of tour buses and RVs around the Visitor Center.

Later we saw a moose cow and an adolescent running across a mountainside, but never did figure out what had spooked them. Bear? Wold? We saw a mother grizzly with three cubs as well as caribou, arctic ground squirrel, spruce grouse, a gere falcon, and a whole flock of Dall sheep (including a couple babies) right by the road. It helped to have multiple sets of eyes on a full bus.

And then there are the wild flowers...

And the vistas!

We "lucked out" (experienced unusual grace of God?) by coming at this time of year. We didn't know, but evidently most visitors in July and August never see "The Mountain" as Denali gets called, in their whole visit. We have had glorious views. The day was cloudless and relatively warm although windy. The different environments and awesome vistas would have been worth the hours in the bus even without spotting animals.

Fell into bed exhausted, but exhilarated with the day.

Afghan update: Definitely no knitting on this drive!

Day 12 AM: Denali National Park

[Apologies. I meant to hit publish  before we left for our afternoon tour. Evidently I didn't. I will soon be posting yesterday afternoon and today.]

121 miles
19,099 steps (on my Mayo Health app, however accurate that it!)

Thankyou, Lord list:
great time of worship naming the names of God as I walked through his creation
shuttle bus drivers with good suggestions
my new camel bak day pack that lets me sip water without taking off my backpack
good boots
found my camera!!!

I woke at 2:30 AM and decided it was worth dragging out of bed to see what it looked like outside. Dusk. You can hike all night at this time of year if you want to.

I caught the 7:15 shuttle to the park. The driver suggested Horseshoe lake on the way in and dropped me off at the railroad tracks. Great views. Steep trail but then level around the lake including this beaver pond. (Note the dam in the middle of the picture. ) I saw signs of beaver-downed trees, but not the beaver themselves.

Near the Visitor Center I passed this still-frozen creek bed. You could hear the water running beneath.

I was thinking of my three-year-old grandson Simeon (who loves to climb mountains) as I started up Mt. Healy.

Views were fabulous.

Sorry, Simeon. I didn't make it to the top. I had to start back to make the 12 PM shuttle to the hotel. This is where I stopped. Took this on my iPhone. I intended to take it on my "real" camera, but realized at this point that I had left it along the way when I pulled things out of my pack to find the shuttle schedule.

On my way down I passed two people walking up who had not seen a camera. I even backtracked thinking I must have already passed it without noticing. But I hadn't. A lot farther back than I expected, the sun glinted off something next to a flat rock and there it was. (Thank you, Lord!)

The lower elevation trails nearer the visitor center were full of wild flowers.

Meanwhile Steve and Mom took the car into the wilderness between the park and where we stayed at Delta Junction. Good gravel road. This is what they saw when they turned back toward the park.

This afternoon we have a tundra wilderness tour, so check back later for pictures of that.

Afghan update: Who has time to knit in a place like this?!

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: