Natural History Tour into Denali

Posted on June 27, 2013June 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As we’d been told our tour was on an old school bus style bus. Remember those windows that you could open from the top by squeezing the release mechanism ? The window would then open 1/2 way so the top of the window was open but not the bottom. Sort of like a double hung window for a bus. Well that’s the kind of windows we had. To take pictures you had to balance on the seat to get the window open and then either lean back (Still standing…sort of) or lean over the seat in front of you to get a shot with no window glass or frame in the way.

The bench seats had been replaced but that was the only change and it might have been easier to take pictures from the bench seats than the captain style. Each row of seats was placed so the frame of the window was right in the way.

Sandy and I settled in and I took the inside by the window. We’d been told that the bus would stop for wildlife and if it was safe, let us out to take pictures. In all the brochures you see the bus on the side of the road with the occupants standing outside watching the wildlife. We were about to discover that “art” and life were very different.

Once everyone was on our driver made a strange announcement. He said if we were on the tour to see wildlife then we were on the wrong bus. As far as I knew from chatting with the others on the tour, we all wanted to see wildlife. No one got off so I thought he must be kidding.

He took a head count and we were on our way. Everyone’s eyes were peeled hoping to see animals. And we did begin spotting some. First up were moose.

We spotted a couple making their way through the snow. One of them had a radio collar and she seemed to be struggling.

At first we were all concerned until someone suggested that she might be about to give birth and that was why she was having trouble getting through the snow when the other moose was fine. I hope that was the case. It made everyone feel better anyway.

We stopped at a rest area where 2 rangers gave a short presentation about the history of the area.

One of them had a really vintage looking uniform and with his beard he was a ranger “poster boy”.

We also got another chance to see Denali (Mt. McKinley) who was again cooperating with us.

The “rest rooms ” were quite state of the art too.

As we stopped at the ranger check point that was as far as cars could go we saw a little Alaskan ground squirrel. He stuck around for quite a few minutes so we all had a chance to get pictures. He’s a cute little fella, isn’t he.

I also spotted a grouse, in fact several, but they blended in with the brush and were so quick to hide that I didn’t get a picture . The bus was moving and if I’d yelled stop they would have been out of sight before he could hit the brakes.

There were more sea gulls flying around. Seemed strange so far from the sea. But it was time to turn around and head back to the lodge.

Into the Interior

Posted on June 24, 2013June 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As we left the coast behind we moved through the Alaskan Tundra toward the Alaska Range and Mount McKinley also known as Denali. That can get confusing because Denali is also the National Park and a State Park. I’ll try to remember to make clear which one I’m referring to.

We weren’t seeing many bald eagles now and the reason we were given was that we were leaving the coast behind and bald eagles need the coastal waters and rivers to fish, salmon being a big part of thier diet. The higher into the mountains we traveled the more likely to see golden eagles which survive on small ground animals like squirrels or hares. (Don’t call them rabbits!)

The food and beverage service in the car seemed to be concentrated closer to the bar where several groups were keeping the attendant and bartender busy. The food menu in the car was quite limited so we decided to try the dining car which was really just the first level of our car. The restrooms were on that level too so about noon all 4 of us headed downstairs. Since we’d only have to climb over each other if we went at different times we thought it’d just be easier to all go together.

The menu in the dining car was also quite limited but that makes sense when you figure they have to bring all of the supplies for the whole trip. Eggs benedict seemed to be a featured item. I ordered what I thought was a crab cake lunch only to get crab cakes with eggs benedict piled on top. At least I wasn’t the only one who misunderstood the menu.

Back in our seats cries of “Moose” started going up. Most of the sightings were on the opposite side from us. I managed to stretch up far enough to see some of them but after 1 attempt to shoot over everyone’s heads and across the car and through the window I decided it just wasn’t going to work and gave up.

The moose on my side were a possibility but the angle of the sun made the reflections from the windows cause distortions in the pictures.

Our seatmate, Robert, came back up to say he had gotten some pictures from the platform but that it was really cold standing out there. We had a few stops with no explanations. After sitting still for 5-10 minutes at each unscheduled stop we’d start up again with no explanation.

Mount McKinley came into view in the distance. This is a rare sight from what we were told. The mountain is so high it makes it’s own weather and its almost always shrouded in clouds and fog. Over and over during our stay we were told that only about 30% of visitors ever get to see the mountain and how lucky we were.

Today it was really clear so everyone’s camera came out, including mine. Well almost everyone’s. We heard one husband complaining to his wife: ” You brought me all the way out here to see a mountain!” I guess the wonder that is Mount McKinley is lost on some people. 🙂

Gateway to the Klondike

Posted on June 11, 2013June 11, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The ship arrived in Skagway in the wee hours of the morning or maybe it was night.

It’s getting harder and harder to tell with the late sunsets and early sunrises the farther north we go.

Skagway is located at the northern tip of Alaska’s Inside Passage.

As we roused ourselves for the day’s adventures we looked out on a busy dock with a rock wall to hold the bank in place.

Above the rock wall on the boulders embedded in mountainside we saw logos and ship’s names painted. The story is that when a crew likes the captain they come ashore and paint the ship’s ID on the rocks, the higher and more dangerous, the more the captain is esteemed.

After breakfast, with the all clear to go ashore, we headed down to find the excursion bus that would take us to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad.

We needed our passports because this adventure would take us into the Klondike region of Canada.

The train would take us through the White Horse Pass. During the gold rush in 1896 there wasn’t a train. The stampeeders ( prospectors) had to either take the Chilkoot Trail which was shorter but steeper or the White Horse Pass that was longer but summited lower at 2885 ft. Both ways were challenging and deadly. The Canadian Mounties waited at Lake Bennett to check supplies. Anyone without enough to survive was turned back at the border.

I can assure you the train was much easier but even today it was easy to see the challenge. We passed huge gullies and mountainsides as the train wound its way to the summit.

We passed over trestle bridges and passed into and out of fog banks and clouds.

Water poured down the mountainsides in everything from torrents to trickles as the snow on the peaks began its spring melt.

Pretty soon we had reached the snowline but even though we were traveling through snow the water continued its downward path. At times we were so close to the mountain side that a foolish person could have reached out and touched the rocks as they flew by…and lost a hand or arm had they been so careless.

At times we could see across the “gulch” where another train ahead of us was already traveling upward or maybe returning downward.

We could see where we would soon be. More than any place else that we’d been, this train ride captured the true wildness of the Alaska mountains.

I admit, I stood in the cold outside the car in an attempt to capture some of the fantastic wilderness that surrounded us. My efforts fell far short of what we actually saw. The fog or clouds (depending on who you ask) only added to the drama of the ride.

Once we arrived at Lake Bennett we had to wait for the Canadian Customs Agents. We were told not to speak unless spoken to, to have our passports out and open and to NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES!

2 Agents boarded and made their way down the aisle. They never smiled. They were quite intimidating. The only time they spoke was to ask a foreign visitor for his visa as well as his passport. He had the visas for his whole family so they checked all of them then left the train.

The bus was waiting to take us to the next stop, a suspension bridge. Everyone headed to the lake to take pictures but the bus driver rounded us up with promises that we’d be back and we could take pictures then. He said we had a schedule to keep.

Mendenhall Glacier

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

Mendenhall Glacier is part of our tour package but for those who aren’t on a tour and wish to check it out there are regular shuttles that leave from Franklin Square by the Mount Roberts tramway station.

Meanwhile back on our tour bus, Phil handed out Nature Valley Bars and bottled water as a snack before our hike to the glacier. The Mendenhall Glacier is one of 37 glaciers that flow down from the 1500 square mile ice field. The glacier stretches approximately 13.5 miles from the ice field right into the valley finally ending in Mendenhall Lake.

The Glacier once covered the whole valley reaching it’s fullest extent around 300 years ago. Since then it has been in retreat. When Sandy and I planned out trip we joked we wanted to get to Alaska before the glaciers all melted. Scientists predict that Mendenhall Glacier won’t be visible from the Visitor Center in another 40 years if it continues it’s current rate of retreat. Maybe our joke wasn’t such a joke after all.

Meanwhile the retreating glacier often spawns large icebergs that drift across the lake.

The area is known for it’s wildlife sightings as well as the glacier but today at mid-day we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife.

At the edge of Mendenhall Lake is a beaver lodge but even the beaver were missing, maybe taking a siesta?

We started our hike to the lake on an easy trail through more of the rain forest. Phil stopped often to point out different mosses and lichen.

The trail opened out into more open, dryer land. Phil explained that the type of soil didn’t retain the water as well as the topsoil in the rainforest which resulted in the more sandy, open area. We could see a waterfall churning it’s way down the mountains. At this time of year, spring, waterfalls are everywhere as the snow melt makes it’s way into the valleys. By summer these torrents will be little more than a trickle if they exist at all.

While we waited for stragglers to catch up and enjoyed the sunshine, Phil told us the story of Romeo, the Glacier Wolf. I’ll share that with you in another post.

With everyone together again, we started downhill to the shore of the lake and the glacier views we’d been looking for.

Sure enough. the lake was filled with ice bergs.

The glacier glowed blue in the shade of the mountain side.

I am so glad the sun decided to come out today. They say the glacier is pretty in the rain but I find it hard to imagine it could be any prettier than it was today with the sun shining and the icebergs floating on the cold lake.

Absence

Posted on May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads

You guys are awesome. I didn’t expect to be away from my blog this long but internet connections are few and far between and when I can get them they are slow and quite expensive so, my friends, please be patient a little longer as my introduction to The Great Land is coming to an end very soon. I have barely scratched the surface of all there is to see but I will share with you my experiences and observations so stay turned! 🙂