LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 7

My previous post, LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 6, contained mostly pictures of moose, caribou, grizzly bear, and Dall sheep. Some people on the tour bus saw a snowshoe hare, porcupine, and a wolf. I didn't because I was on the other side of the bus. Guess I could have climbed over other equally excited tourists, but the thought of being on the top of a human mountain did not appeal, especially when the bus seemed to be tilting enough without my 125 pounds added to the pile. Hubby Ron managed to see the porcupine and the wolf (which looked like a fox to him).


Taking a photo of a golden eagle in flight (above) through the dirty window of a moving bus isn't exactly a piece of cake, but this is one of the two non-blurry shots that came out. Remember to click on picture to enlarge. Golden eagles, who usually mate for life, eat rabbits, squirrels, mice, marmots, other birds, and sometimes even young Dall sheep. Females are larger than males. Dark brown with a wing span of 72.8 inches to 86.6 inches, they range in length from 27 1/2 to 33 inches in length. Folks, that's a lot of bird. I thought they were beautiful, but not as regal as the bald eagles we have in Virginia.

Mt. McKinley, also known as Denali by Alaskans, is 20,320 feet tall, the tallest mountain in North America. Only 30% of the tourists visiting Denali National Park see it because of the weather. In a single day, one can experience sun, wind, rain, clouds, and rain. Two days out of three, the peak is covered with clouds. Conditions change in an instant, but we were lucky.

Mt. McKinley above and below.

Mt. McKinley, white behind the dark mountain range.
See how it towers over the other mountain and the cloud.

I could write a dozen blogs about Denali National Park and Preserve, but I bet y'all would get sick of hearing about it. If you're curious and want to learn more, check out this website.

From Denali, we traveled to Fairbanks and visited the Alaskan Pipeline.

Pipeline Visitors Center

Hubby Ron standing by a cross section of pipeline.

Lengthier view of pipeline, which is 800 miles long.

Loved this sign! Click on picture to enlarge.

Me at the entrance to one of Fairbanks' many museums.

Sculpture in downtown Fairbanks.

LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 5

Dogs. Sleds. Races. The Iditarod. While in Denali, we visited Jeff King's Husky Homestead. Jeff is a four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,000-mile-race over frozen Alaska territory where competitors push themselves and their huskies for ten grueling days. I get tired--and cold--just thinking about it.



If a dog must be chained to a dog house, I think this is the way to do it. Note the pole with chain that allows a dog to run 'round and 'round his house without getting hung up. Fortunately, our dogs aren't on chains, but when you have 75 Alaskan huskies to care for, well, you do what you need to do. And these huskies receive lots of attention, care and love.




Sled dogs are trained daily. Even during non-snow months, each dog is harnessed every day and runs at least five miles while pulling an ATV. When the temperature gets really high, they train in Husky Homestead's lake. I watched these dogs. They LOVE what they do.



Unlike the big, muscular animals we see on TV, these sled dogs are Alaskan huskies, animals bred for speed, endurance, and their love of mushing. And they are gentle, sweet.

Goose Lake Kennel at Husky Homestead allows visitors to hold and snuggle young puppies. As you can tell, I was in heaven in the picture above.

Jeff King explained the trials of sled dog racing, told us how cold it gets, how hard it is. The person in the cold-weather clothing above would still get cold in the -40 degree temperatures!

In the gift shop I bought a red Husky Homestead shirt signed by Jeff King himself. That's Jeff signing my new purchase. When you see me wearing my shirt, wave and smile. Or just bark.

LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 4

Ron and I posed outside the world-renown Talkeetna Lodge before leaving Talkeetna, a sweet town, a nice place to visit, but . . . it gets BRRR COLD by mid September! The entire town closes down.




Our group left Talkeetna and boarded another glass-domed train for the little town of Denali. Views from the train were spectacular.

The two windmills above generate enough power to supply several homes with electricity. To survive in this country one must be self-sufficient.

Our train crossed the Nenana River as we chugged into Denali. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see a man fishing and a woman waving. I waved back.

View of the Nenana River Canyon from the Grande Denali Lodge.

The road with sharp switchbacks to Grande Denali Lodge curves up Sugarloaf Mountain. When tour buses meet all riders hold their breath. We spent one night here. The Lodge itself offers fine dining, a bar, a snack bar, internet hook-up, and a gift shop. Laundry facilities are available in one of the buildings; I washed and dried two loads of laundry. Each room has either two queen beds or one king, nice bath, coffee/tea, TV. Six cabins on the property are also available. As you can tell from the above picture, the views are incredible. Because of the severe winters, the Lodge closes around the middle of September.

Ron and I in the Grande Denali Lodge.

While strolling through the town of Denali, I saw this dog outside a shop. I looked up to see what had caught his attention.



The squirrel on the wood carving is real. He was watching the dog.



Intrigued, I watched the dog watch the squirrel who watched the dog. Neither animal moved. I imagine the drama ended without, well, without any drama at all!

LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 3

First Day of Land Tour: Because of months of planning with AAA's knowledgeable and patient Lynchburg travel agent Judy Martin, we looked forward to this stage of our trip. We were not disappointed!

Julie, our tour guide, and Josh, our bus driver, loaded us on a bus in Anchorage and drove us to the Alaska Railroad Station. We boarded the Wilderness Express, a sleek double-decker, glass-domed train that provided jaw-dropping views of the Alaskan wilderness.


Passengers oohed at the mountains, ahhed at the turbulent, gray rivers, snapped pictures. I learned to turn off my flash and hold the camera against the window so there wouldn't be as much reflection, although some is still visible in a few photos.



We rode slowly through Elmendorf Air Base where a plane had crashed the week before. There were no survivors. Guides asked us not to talk or take pictures out of respect for the dead. Wreckage lay alongside the track. We could smell the burned trees nearby. I thought of the families whose lives were changed because of the crash. Some of us silently prayed for them. Seems as though small planes crash often in Alaska. While we were on our trip, Senator Ted Stevens' plane crashed. He died.

Guess who was waiting for us when we passed through the little town of Wasilla! Yep, you're right. That's my hubby standing with Sarah Palin. Actually, he's standing with a life-size cardboard cutout. Note her legs.


We ate a late breakfast in the dining car. I ordered reindeer sausage (delicious) and blueberry pancakes. Imagine eating gourmet meals while watching gorgeous scenery at the same time like the two couples below did. It took me longer to eat 'cause I was so busy taking pictures.


We arrived in Talkeetna, a tiny town of 400 residents. Shops filled with local crafts and touristy stuff lined both sides of the two roads. We attended an informative presentation about Mt. McKinley (called Denali by the locals) at the ranger station, then walked in rain to the Talkeetna Lodge.




Talkeetna Lodge is in the midst of nowhere. Mountain climbers hoping to conquer Mt. McKinley stay here, as well as sight-seers, hunters, photographers, and hikers. Above is one of the many lounges. Our bedroom had two queen beds, TV, a desk, a couple of chairs, and a nice bathroom. Below is the view from our room's huge window. On a clear day, snow-capped Mt. McKinley is visible.


While in Talkeetna, we took Mahay's Jet Boat Adventures wilderness tour. Our pilot knew the rivers well, and navigated the boat out of the Talkeetna River through the inlet where the Susitna and Chulitna meet. The rivers are shallow, rocky, not what you'd traverse in a motorboat unless you knew them well. The rivers are fed by glaciers, and the constantly flowing silt changes the channels, keeps the water gray. Bald eagles fish the rivers.




The tour also included a visit to a native Indian encampment where our guide explained how the land's early inhabitants survived. Cabins like the one below were used by Indians and trappers. Caches were constructed to store food supplies and keep them safe from animals. Cabins and caches are still used in remote Alaska today.




I took the above picture from the cabin doorway, so you can tell how small it is. A cabin like this can make the difference between life and death.

Notice how the metal pieces on the top part of the support logs has been attached to keep animals from climbing inside the cache. Of course the ladder is removed before anyone storing food leaves!

In my next blog about Alaska, I'll include pictures from our scenic train ride, the town of Denali, and our adventure into Denali National Park.