Our last days at Mt McKinley

Yesterday we had our last of work in uniform. There were less than one hundred guests on property, and it was pretty boring. Today we worked a half  day cleaning up after the guests left at 10 a.m. Now we are done!!! We met many wonderful people and saw some awesome sights, but we're ready to get "on the road again."

Dan is outside cleaning up the RV for the trip, and I'm doing laundry and cleaning up inside. Fortunately it is a beautiful fall day, sunny and in the 60's. Tomorrow we will start our adventure back to Florida. In addition to nightly stops along the way, we plan to stop in Ohio and South Carolina to see kids and grand kids. So far we have our campgrounds planned through Alaska, Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alberta. The trick is to find ones that are opened. Many close down in the middle of September. We expect to see some colorful fall foliage as we travel south and hope to miss the snow. Our arrival back home should be near the end of October.
Here is a picture of Mt McKinley that we took recently when the leaves were beginning to change. It is magnificent to see all 20,320 ft of it.




I wanted to share some pictures of a very interesting Alaskan flower called Fireweed. I didn't know until recently that its name comes from the fact that it is the first plant to grow after a fire. In the spring it is green and appears abundantly all around.



In July beautiful rose colored flowers burst out and stay until the end of August.



Then the flowers die off and white puffy seed pods take their place. There are thousands of seeds on each plant.



While the seed pods are still on the plant the bottom part turns red. some of them drop off and some of them stay. While driving down the road we could see many areas bursting with the red fireweed.



We found one area on property where we photographed fireweed in all the stages: the green leaf, the flower, the seed pods, and the red bottom.



As you can tell I was fascinated by the fireweed and hope I didn't bore you with it.

Misc info: Daylight is rapidly decreasing. The last couple of weeks when we worked mornings we drove down to the lodge because it was totally dark at 6 a.m. This past week when we ended at 9 p.m. we also drove because it was totally dark. Bears and moose have been seen on property, and we didn't want a close encounter in the dark. Temperatures have been mostly in the low 50's as highs and 40's as lows. Today is the exception since it is in the 60's. One morning it went down to 32 and there was frost on the Blazer. We'd like not to experience that again!

And the adventure continues.......

The countdown is on

We have 18 days until we leave on our journey back to Florida. We hope to get out of Alaska before the snow starts to fly. The temperature is topping out at 60 with lows mostly in the 40's. The other morning the low was 35. We are losing about five minutes of daylight every day so the color of trees is turning to mostly yellow and the leaves are falling. Winter is quickly approaching.

The only adventure that we experienced since I last posted a blog was last Sunday morning when we went to start the Blazer to go to church. The key fob would not open the door. When Dan tried to start it, it turned over but would not stay running. After trying over and over for the next several hours with no success, we decided to use our Good Sam starting and towing service. Dan reached someone in Texas who, after a long wait, said they would send someone from Fairbanks to help. Although he told them Fairbanks is 260 miles away and Wasilla is only 90 miles they insisted on sending someone from Fairbanks. About an hour later someone else called telling us the truck from Fairbanks would not be coming, and they were trying to find someone closer. Dan finally convinced them that we are in the wilderness and the nearest tow service is in Wasilla which is two hours away not 30 miles away. They found a service in Wasilla and sent a man to try to start it or tow it for service. He was not able to start the Blazer so he towed it away. After he talked to a friend who is a locksmith he thought that possibly the security system was causing the problem. The next morning he reset the security system, but it still would not start. He then put in a used DieHard battery that he had on hand with no success. So he towed it to the Chevy dealer. When Dan called the Chevy dealer to find out the status the man asked what the problem was. After Dan explained what happened the mechanic said the Blazer started and ran fine. So we still don't really know what the problem was, but think it may have been the battery. On our day off on Thursday we hitched a ride on a Princess coach heading to Anchorage. They dropped us off in Wasilla and we picked up the Blazer. It has been starting and running since, and we hope that is the end of the Blazer problems.

We realize that we miss our life in Florida. Some of the things that we are missing: warmth and sunshine and the comforts of home which include two bathrooms, large shower with lots of pressure, washer and dryer, home cooking, daily paper, large TV with Dish and DVR, clean Cadillac in the garage, and stores close by, not two hours away. We are looking forward to not setting the alarm, and Dan will enjoy not putting on a tie each day. We're also anxious to get back to our routine of Church and breakfast out on Sundays and trips to the YMCA during the week.

We'll spend the next two weeks planning our trip home in our spare time. We're ready to get on the road again.

Denali National Park

August greeted us with nine days of cold, dreary, rainy weather. For several days the temperatures only got into the 50's. Finally on August 10 the front moved on to Canada and our sunshine returned. We planned a two day trip to the Denali Princess Lodge which is two hours north of here. When we give people with cars directions to Denali it's fun to see their expressions when we say, "Turn right and go to the first red light which is two hours away."  We were blessed with beautiful weather when we did the Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali National Park. It is a eight hour bus trip to mile 62 on the only road in the park of 10,000 square miles and 6 million acres. The road continues on to mile 92. When we did our cruise/tour two years ago we only went in 17 miles so we were excited to see more of the park.  Our driver guide who had 30 years experience was excellent. Whenever anyone saw wildlife they would shout "stop" so everyone could watch the animals. He had a zoom lens on a video camera and drop down screens. He would focus in on the animals and we could see them up close and personal. The grizzlies mostly had their heads buried in the berry bushes munching away and getting ready for hibernation. We saw a total of seven grizzlies at different points of the trip.





It was sometimes hard to get pictures because the animals were surrounded by shrubs and trees. We saw dall sheep on the hillside but it was impossible to get pictures of them from our angle. Here is a shot of caribou relaxing on the tundra.



And here's a moose climbing up a hill.



The view from the bus was spectacular. Only tour buses are permitted on this part of the road so there was no problem stopping whenever we wanted. There were no guardrails and sometimes it was a little scary looking over the edge. It was hard to capture the beauty of the park with pictures.



Another area was called Polychrome mountain and overlook. The colors of the mountain and view were breathtaking.



At mile 62 there was a scenic view of Mt. McKinley from the north. At that point we were 35 miles from Mt. McKinley.  At our lodge we see the view from the south, and we are 40 miles away. There were some clouds blocking the top of the mountain but it was still an amazing sight.



The last animal sighting was a caribou ambling down the road with two buses behind. We were facing it and watched while it made its way off the road and into the hills.



We were in awe of the size and beauty of the part of Denali National Park that we saw from the ground. It was definitely a worthwhile trip. Now when guests ask about the tour we are able to describe it from our experience.

Misc info: The days are getting shorter. Today sunrise is at 5:51 and sunset at 10:10. So it is getting dark again. We have 38 days more days to work. The last guests leave on September 21 and we leave on September 22. We have not decided on which route we will take but plan to take our time getting home. We hope it doesn't get too cold and snow before we leave.

An amazing day of firsts

When we woke up on Thursday, July 28, we never expected it to turn into the "best day ever" full of many firsts for us. We started out feeling our bed shake and realized that we were experiencing our first Alaskan earthquake. It was a 5.2 quake centered about 100 miles from us. It lasted only about 30 seconds, but was definitely a weird feeling.

Since it was our day off, we planned to take an excursion called Devil's Canyon Jet Boat Adventure. As we started down the road we encountered the mama moose and her two little ones who have been seen all season around the area. It was our first moose sighting on property.



We drove to Talkeetna where the Devil's Canyon tour began. The jet boat took us about about 60 miles up the Susitna River through Denali State Park into the National Wild River Park of Devil's Gorge where we encountered class 4 and 5 rapids. It was exciting, and the captain did an excellent job keeping the 50 passenger jet boat under control.



 Not only was this our first white water rapid trip in a jet boat, but we also had our first black bear sighting  this summer. A mama bear and her two cubs were down by the river looking for salmon. When we passed them the captain stopped, and they stayed in our vision for a few minutes and then ran into the woods. Some people saw the cubs climb up a tree but we didn't see them.



When we returned to town we decided to try our luck getting on a plane to fly to Mt. McKinley and walk on a glacier. Since it was such a beautiful day we didn't expect to have success because we had to be on stand-by waiting for available space on one of the planes. Luck was on our side, and after about one half hour they found room for us. There's never a guarantee that the plane can land because clouds can come in very quickly. Our luck stayed with us, and we had our first glacier landing. What an indescribable experience! There were several planes on the glacier when we landed, but they all took off and we were left alone in the quiet of the mountains. Our pilot was a captain of the Alaska State Troopers who flew many rescue missions during his career. It was very interesting to hear of his experiences. Not only was the flight full of beautiful sights but walking on the glacier was a once in a lifetime experience.




On the way home we had our first Subway sandwich since we started our job. How delicious it tasted! We're still amazed at what a wonderful day off we had! It doesn't get any better than that.

Trip to Copper River, Valdez, Prince William Sound

We joined a group of employees from McKinley and Denali on a two day bus trip to a sister Princess Lodge at Copper River about six hours away. We traveled south on the Parks Highway (Highway 3) through Wasilla and Palmer. Instead of heading toward Anchorage we turned on to Glenn Highway (Highway 1). It's another scenic road where the edge of the Matanuska glacier can be seen from the road.




As we continued we passed some beautiful waterfalls. We stopped at one called Horsetail Falls. Some of the younger folks climbed up closer to the bottom of it, but we just enjoyed the view from the parking lot.




The Princess Lodge at Copper River is much smaller than McKinley and Denali. It includes only one main building with additional buildings for employee housing. They have only 75 employees compared to us with 350 employees. It was quite attractive and welcoming, and we enjoyed being guests instead of employees for two days. We were able to eat at their employee dining room for breakfast and they packed us lunches both days. They have a view of mountains in the Wrangell-St Elias National Park but just like Mt McKinley they are sometimes covered in clouds.

We left early the next morning on a two hour drive to Valdez. Unfortunately the clouds were hovering all around us, and we did not see much of the scenic drive. Thompson Pass was so totally engulfed in clouds that the only way we realized that we were passing through it was because we saw a sign. I brought my Alaska Milepost book along so I could follow the road and figure out where we were. We got glimpses of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline which follows adjacent to the road. When we arrived at Valdez we embarked the Glacier Spirit boat to take us through the Prince William Sound to the Columbia Glacier.



It was supposed to be a six hour trip but we ended up being out in the water for seven hours because the whales were performing for us, and we were able to travel very close to the Columbia Glacier.
We saw sea otters and puffins on icebergs and steller sea lions sunning on beach.





The puffins entertained us for quite awhile flying around, landing on icebergs, and flying off again.



There were several areas where Steller Sea Lions lounged along the hillsides. Males average 1200 pounds. When we got closer to them we could hear them bellowing. It was NOT music to the ears!



The icebergs broke up enough for us to get closer to the Columbia Glacier than the captain had travelled previously this summer so we spent quite a bit of time in this area. We bundled up and went  out to the front of the boat. Not only were the sights awesome but the sounds of the icebergs crackling were amazing.




On the way back we spotted several whales and the captain knew exactly where to stop and wait for them to perform. This next picture is of a kayak in the background and a whale in the front. If you click on the picture I think you will be able to see it clearer.  It was very difficult getting pictures because the whales go up and down so quickly. But it was an outstanding experience to see them.


And the grand finale....we saw a humpback whale (average 45 ft and 35-40 tons) jump out of the water. One of the young girls that work at the front desk clicked her camera at just the right second. The picture that we got was the splash after the jump.



We're really glad we took the opportunity to see another part of Alaska. After spending the night at the Copper River Lodge we headed back to our lodge. We stopped at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest on in the nation. The visitor center was very impressive. Since we had employees from Denali with us we took a different route back which took us across the Denali Highway 135 miles from Paxton to Cantwell. 15% is paved and the other 85% is gravel so it was slow going. We wouldn't choose that way to go in the RV. I don't know how many miles we traveled on that trip but it gave me a sense of how expansive this state is. We are only in a small section of the state and yet we spent a lot of time on the road.

Misc info: We are still working 6 days a week, meeting amazing people, solving transportation problems, getting frustrated at times, and enjoying our time off. Tonight they are having a barbecue for all the transpo people which includes us. We're promised steaks that can be cut with a fork. Dan says "Yipee!"

Out internet connection is mostly slow but a little faster if we take the computer to the main lodge. At least we have some connection here in the wilderness. It tries our patience. Remember the old dial up??? Click and wait.... Our cell phone reception is good until we go off property where we lose signal quickly.

The weather remains mostly in the 60's during the day and 50's at night. Occasionally it slips into the 70's. That probably sounds good to some of you with the heat wave in the lower 48. The amount of daylight is decreasing. Yesterday sunrise was at 4:59 am and sunset was 11:16. The wildflowers are breathtaking and the baskets and flower beds around the lodge overflowing with beauty.

The bear attack that you may have heard in the news recently took place in the mountains near Talkeetna which is the city one hour from us. We are warned constantly of the possibility of bear and moose. There are some near our property but we haven't seen them.



Hope all is well with everyone.

June weather

The weather during June was mostly sunny with highs in the mid 60's. We had a few cloudy days and a little rain. There were several days when the temperature climbed into the 70's. On one such day we were sitting outside the RV visiting with some friends. One of the bus drivers stopped by and joined us. During a conversation about the weather he sighed and said, "What a scorcher we had today!" When I checked the temperature it was 76 degrees. We all got a good laugh from that statement. He hasn't spent a summer in Florida!    Happy Independence Day to all.

Homestead Tour, Nature Walk, Gold Panning

Almost a month has flown by since I last posted a blog. We have been working six days a week and taking tours on our days off. The Lodge has been full to capacity (460 rooms) most of the time. That means people want to go on tours while they are here, and we get to help them decide which adventure would be the best. We have become very familiar with the routine, but every day we learn something new. Some guests come to us by coach from Denali or Anchorage and some by rail. I am amazed at how well organized the transportation is each day. People are coming and going every day and they keep track of the numbers. When someone misses their transportaion they quickly find a solution to the problem. It's impressive.

On the Trapper Creek Homestead tour that we took we went to the original home of a family of six who came to Alaska from South Dakota in 1963 in a VW. When we pulled into the driveway there were old cars and junk all over the place. The daughter who was 4 when they arrived showed us around the greenhouse and the yard where the chickens and goats reside. She explained how she grew up and lived her life in Alaska. Then we went inside, were treated to cookies and coffee, and met her mother who is now in her 70's. It was quite interesting chatting with her and getting her perspective on that rugged life. She home schooled her children and others in the area and didn't regret her decision to move to Alaska. She has electricity now but her daughter who lives 10 miles away does not. It was an eye opening experience. Here is their cabin. The left part is the original and the rest was added on over the years.



Our next adventure was the Byers Lake Nature Walk. Princess McKinley Lodge is in the Denali State Park and Byers Lake is about 15 minutes north of here. The day before we went was a beautiful sunny day, but the morning of the walk was cloudy and dreary. When we woke up I didn't really feel like hiking in the rain, but the night before I had booked the same tour and told the guests that I would see them in the morning. "All tours go rain or shine" is what our sign says. So we decided not to be wimps and go for it. When we got to the lake they offered us mosquito hats for protection so I took one. This is what it looked like.



I used it for a few minutes, but the mosquitoes were not bothering me so I took it off. Fortunately the weather cleared up and the sun came out before the 2 hour walk was over. We saw many beautiful wildflowers and learned how the natives used the plants. We hiked to an old run down cabin where a couple made their home in the wilderness. We saw kayakers on the lake, but that is another adventure we hope to do.

This past week we went on the Historical Gold Panning Adventure which included a stop at the Trapper Creek Museum. It is a log cabin build by a family who were part of the Michigan 59ers, a group who came to the area in 1959 to homestead and mine for gold. The guide gave an excellent explanation of life back then, and we saw many interesting items that they used.



 After that stop we traveled 18 miles out a gravel road to a creek where we learned how to pan for gold. Dan did the digging and the sifting while I took pictures. We both panned for gold and found several little specks. Everyone in the group found some so I think somehow they slipped the gold in the pans, but did not want to ask in front of guests. At any rate is was fun and we have a vial of gold in our possession. Here we are with our pans.



Misc info: All the snow from the big pile was gone in the middle of June. On June 21 they had a Summer Solstice picnic for the employees. The young folks played games and the rest of us enjoyed the food. On that day the sun set at 12:22 am and rose at 3:31 am. It still doesn't get dark, but it hasn't bothered us. We haven't decided which tour we will take on our day off this week. Next week we are taking a three day trip to the Copper River Princess Lodge near Valdez. They are taking a busload of employees so we decided to go along. We'll keep you posted.