Ester Community Park Ester, Alaska
Mileage: 45,822
Denali greeted us from our campsite this morning.
And then again along the drive back to Cantwell.
Wow! 5 days in a row. We were told today that the mountain is only visible 20% of the days in each year. We decided to drive into Denali National Park one more time and drive the first 15 miles. It was a gorgeous day and we could see Denali from there as well.
These pine cones will make good food for the ground squirrels and bears in the autumn.
There is a caribou in this picture…really! Did you know that caribou and reindeer are the same animal? Kyle taught me that!
As we passed Denali Village, we also passed a sign that said “End of Scenic Byway.” Today was a nice ride on a pretty day through wilderness and forest. We are on our way north to Fairbanks. We passed the area where Chris McCandless hiked into the woods and lived in a bus. It sounds like people actually take that hike. There are 2 rivers to cross and hikers have actually drowned there. The bus from the movie “Into the Wild” is actually at 49th Street Brewing Company.
This RV was stopped in the middle of the highway. This family with 2 small children was having some kind of issue with the transmission. Tim tried to stop and help but there wasn’t anything he could really do! The guy was hoping to cool things down enough that the transmission would work again so he could get off the road.
We traveled around for quite some time before we finally found a place to park for the night. We are at a small community park in Ester, Alaska. This community worked really hard to get the funds to buy this park. There is a nice playground and a nice amphitheater. They are able to leave toys out for the kids to use when they come. We met an organic farmer who was here to distribute his bushel boxes of vegetables to his customers. He and his wife and small children live an alternate lifestyle. They have no electricity and no running water. Farming in Alaska is hard work and there is a very short growing season. Because the days are so long they are able to harvest crops of eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and lots of kinds of greens. Farmer Brad told us that once in awhile he gets a harsh reminder that he is living in wilderness. A couple of weeks ago, a wolf killed a moose 3/4 of a mile form his farm.
We spent some time this afternoon working on ordinary life stuff. Tomorrow in Fairbanks, we have a long list of chores. Fairbanks is the last hub before we head south and then back into Canada.
Our dinner spot.
Old truck of the day.
It is fun traveling from one place to the next every day or two but still sleeping in our own bed!