Mother's Day in Denali

We had a late start, not leaving Anchorage until (gasp!) 7:30 a.m. While Tom and Liz were packing the truck, I had the task of getting Liz's boots shined. The Captain Cook hotel even has it's own shoeshine stand! I had the easy job, that's for sure.

Lunch was sandwiches, made by me from the back seat. Dinner was at a small cafe in Cantwell, two miles off the highway. Again, we were lucky to find any place open for food!

We arrived at the park at last, tired...and found Liz's new abode. It's a three bedroom, two bath house that she shares with another ranger, at least for the next 90 days. Then, most likely, she will have to find another place to live. It will go up for bid and the person with the lowest pay grade will get it. That probably won't be Liz.

All right, Mother's Day! Liz, rather than her usual phone call (pointless since I was well within hugging distance), gave me earrings she'd bought while we were in Canada the first time. Very cute! First Nation made--frog earrings. Tom gave me an Alaska Bear medallion from the Alaska Mint in Anchorage. Sneaky fellow, so that's why he wandered off to sightsee by himself for a bit. Jeff phoned later. We talked for a bit and he wished me a Happy Mother's Day. I told him I appreciated his call and that it really meant a lot to me. No kidding there, I was tearing up as I said that, but I don't think he noticed. It did mean a lot! These kiddos...they have no idea...

We tried to go to church in Healy. The website said the meeting time was 11 a.m. We got there and waited and waited... Liz later, after many phone calls, found out they've gone to summer hours now and meet at 5:30 in the evening!


To fill the rest of the day, we went on a Sunday drive, down the park highway. Not as far as Liz's cabin at Toklat, though.
We hiked a bit. Liz did some repair on Tom's blister. Nice to have an EMT around!

We saw a lot of ptarmigen (birds, similar to grouse) along the road. Here is a photo of one:
The highlight of the drive, however, was the two wolves we saw! They still had their fluffy winter coats on and were pretty cute in a vicious predatory bite-your-face-off sort of way. I read in a Denali visitor's guide later that few Park visitors even see wolves here, so we were lucky. Six million acres of Park...100 wolves. It's no wonder! They were marking their territroy. Tom got a photo of one of them leaving it's "skat" behind, and I do mean..behind. A photo of a wolf's backside!

Another moose sighting as wee pulled into Liz's driveway. It was probably the same moose we'd seen wandering through the housing area that morning, still hanging out there.

Chester Creek Trail

Today after doing laundry, we hiked the Chester Creek trail, an urban trail through Anchorage. At least it wasn't covered in snow and ice. Tom estimated we walked about 8 miles. Unfortunately, Tom walked himself into a big blister on his foot. Our 3 pm. snack was our final visit to the Reindeer Sausage guy. Mmmm. I'm going to miss him!

Tomorrow we head for Denali!

Glacier Viewing

The day after our bike ride, we decided to drivee 48 miles from Anchorage and visit Portage Glacier. We'd been there before, but not in April. Like a lot of other places, the Visitor's Center was closed. The trail we'd planned on hiking was also closed, due to snow! Here is Tom, standing at the trail head:

The glacier was still beautiful, but it was cold. The blue skies and sunshine of Anchorage, didn't extend to where we were at. To make matters worse, we'd forgotten we'd brought our coats into the hotel. I wore Liz's coat, which was in the back of the truck (where we'd thought ours were) Tom squeezed into my fleece, with his over the top. We stopped for lunch with a view of the glacier.


On the way back, we stopped at Moose Flats to hike a bit. There are boardwalks there, over swampy (frozen) places and thickets of leaf-less and skinny trees. Moose droppings were everywhere! On the way back to the truck, I felt moose eyes on us. Weird, I know, but one can't help be a bit paranoid when stepping over multitudes of moose poop piles! I stopped and glanced around. THERE IT WAS! Starting at us, with only a few skinny trees between us. We stared back for a few heart stopping moments. Then the moose's ears started twitching. A bad sign. We scurried away.

As we drove past the town of Girdwood, we stopped at a shop called "Alaska Tourist Trap." Who can resist a name like that? She had some nice jackets on sale; $5.00 each. She was trying to clear out last year's stock and these, besides being dusty in spots, were missing the hoods. They are nice, though, with a fleece side and a water proof side. Now Tom and I have matching reversible Alaska jackets; too bad we didn't have them sooner, Tom would have been a lot warmer hiking.

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

What to do in Anchorage besides shop? Rent a bike and bike around! Of course some of us haven't been on a bicycle in years, but don't they say "you never forget?" And who are "THEY" anyway? What do "they" know? All right, so I didn't fall off, but it was wobbly going for a bit and at the end of the day--16 miles worth--well, let's just say my backside was complaining...

Still, the scenery was fantastic, the day was gorgeous, and yes, we saw CRITTERS! Here are photos:



That sign Tom is reading tells you what to do if you come upon moose...






The first time we saw the moose, we were biking out on the trail, away from Anchorage. I was in the lead and spotted something in the trees. I came to a stop and nearly got rear-ended from Tom behind me. We spotted a second moose there and after getting our hearts out of our throats, nervously passed them. I think they are used to bikers. They weren't bothered a bit (note: if a moose's hackles go up and their ears go back, you are in big trouble!) On the way back to Anchorage, there they were again, but they had crossed the road to munch leaves on the other side and weren't in the cover of the trees this time.

What Happens When You Are Stuck In a Car for an Extended Period

Not to scare any children who might see this blog, but THIS is evidence that human beings were not meant to be squished in a car for days on end!

Anchorage

Liz had five days of refresher classes to take in Anchorage, so we stayed with her there--in a room on the 12th floor of the Captain Cook hotel. What a view! Snowy mountains in the not-so-distant horizon and the water off to the left. A fancy hotel, complete with a doorman in a top hat and tail. The only problem was the room only had two twin beds. Liz in one, and Tom and I squished in the other. We pushed our bed up against the wall so at least I didn't fall out, but here I am...squished again! Our first day there, Tom and I went out to do laundry and get groceries.



We stopped at the Quilt Tree on the way back and found out there is another quilt shop just down the street from our hotel. What could be better?


Our favorite place for lunch while we were in Anchorage, was a reindeer hotdog stand outside the Federal Building. There were other hotdog stands, but this guy had a lot of personality and was fun to listen to. His dog, a well behaved German Shepherd, spent the day snoozing in the truck, parked at the curb. Quite often his head was resting on the window of the truck, looking pitifully out at the people passing by.

The Adventure continues....

We stopped at Rancheria Falls, a place we've stopped on past trips on the Al-Can, for a little hike. It's a short 10 minute walk to the Falls. Unfortunately, it was closed due to all the SNOW! I'm sure it would have been beautiful to see, with all the snow...but the trail was buried and we could have easily gotten lost. I suppose that is why the big CLOSED sign was up! Instead, while I was checking out the outhouse (a metal roofed outhouse, btw), I heard a loud CRASH on the roof! A snowball fight was occuring between Tom and Liz! The outhouse was one of the only safe places around. Liz ended up with snow in the pocket of her sweatshirt... Have we been cooped up in the truck too long?





We spent the night 3.5 miles from the U.S./Canada border, on the Alaska side. Most of the lodgings we past, few and far between, were closed this time of the year. We've been lucky to find anything. And food! Another problem! We stopped at Beaver Creek, the last stop in Canada--and the only food there was being saved for the road crew. We forged on and were lucky enough to find a gas station/hotel. The nice man there took pity on us and offered, since he was heating the oil to fry up his dinner, a choice of chicken strips or halibut, with French fries. Tom talked him into salads with the halibut. For breakfast the next morning, Tom had instant oatmeal, heated with the microwave in our room. Liz and I dined on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

At the Welcome to the Yukon and Welcome to Alaska signs, we stopped for our tradional photos. Where else can you sit with half your backside in one country, and the other half in another? I suppose the question arises, "Why would you want to?" but that is really beside the point here!

Memorial Day

Taking time out from the roadtrip saga to post a photo of Tom in his Air Force uniform. Happy Memorial Day, everyone! I like the quote, "Land of the Free, because of the brave." So here's one for you...

And after all this time, he still can fit into his uniform. Not bad, eh?

Liard Hot Springs

Our all time favorite stop on the drive to Alaska will always be Liard Hot Springs. It has been a few years since we've been there, but it is still as wonderful as we remembered. We had a lovely, albeit sulphery soak in the warm--and hot--water.






Wildlife we've seen today, besides creatures in the hot springs...were bison, moose and caribou.

Heading to Alaska

Squishing me in the back seat of Liz's truck, we loaded up and headed north to Alaska. Tom was driving this time, finally getting a bit of a holiday after two weeks home alone. Liz was glad to have someone else driving, which left her free to read as we traveled. Here she is, ready to go, with some of her plants on her lap.



Our first stop was Williams Lake, BC., where one of my quilting friends, Carla McIvor, used to live. Is Carla still there? Her husband, Trevor? Lovely people, but you know how it is...sometimes you loose track of people. Sadly, I lost track of Carla.
Tom remembered where the Chuck's Auto Parts store is, and it was a good thing as the truck wasn't behaving properly. He replaced spark plugs and did some other puttering. I wandered into the meat store next door and bought a pound of the most delicious pepperoni ever! They make it right there but only sell it locally because it doesn't have all the fillers that regular pepperoni has. Mmmmm.


Then it was back in the truck and off we went! My accomodations aren't the best, but it was worth a bit of discomfort to make this trip. I had to sit sideways, wedged in the backseat with a pillow at my back and a cushion to sit on. There wasn't much "cush" in that cushion, but enough so my backside wasn't entirely on it's own. Very little room back there, as I shared the space with one of Liz's plants, her bagpipes, scriptures, CD cases, 1st Aid Kit and a bag of food! YIKES!

But the view from my wee window is interesting. Canadian wildlife! Bears and deers so far.

We stayed in Fort Nelson, a long day, with a drive of about 500 miles.

Home..briefly...

We got home in time to celebrate Sheena's 25th birthday. She and Jim came over for dinner, all gluten-free (my philosophy is to NOT poison people, particularly daughter-inlaws...and both of mine are gluten intolerant) I have learned a lot from my daughter-inlaws (both are smart women..hey, they married my sons, didn't they?) One of the things I am learning is to cook gluten free. We had taco salad, gluten free rolls, and gluten free chocolate cake. Delicious! Although we'd given her birthday goodies before I left for Boston, we couldn't have her giftless on THE day, so I gave her the Raven necklace I'd purchased for her in Canada, part of my Christmas stash. Yes...I know...it is bad, but I shop for Christmas almost year around! Sheena has a fondness for ravens, so I thought she would like this. She did. Success!

Lake Louise

When I was 10 years old, my family stopped at Lake Louise in Banff National Park and it was the first time I remember ever noticing that the world was a beautiful place. Having told Liz that, she wanted to stop at Lake Louise to see it for herself. Unfortunately, it wasn't as pretty when it is all frozen solid! And covered with people! What is wrong with those folks? Can't they see the sign about the ice being dangerous to walk on? Good grief... I'm glad we had our hike to Sundance Canyon---and saw all the gorgeous scenery, with very few people...



We stayed in Merritt, BC. that night and then drove over the border. The border guard asked Liz where she was going and she replied, "I'm moving to Alaska." He said, "You're going the wrong way!!!" Oh. Well, yes, but she had to take her Mama home!