981 July 10, 2023 Galbraith Lake

Good morning from the end of the northernmost road in the United States…extreme northern Alaska! 

We are so very far from home.  Thanks for the picture, Leanne!

We made one more trip to town.

We planned to camp out this evening and the mosquitoes have been ferocious.  We decided we needed to get more protection.  We walked out of the Brooks Supply Store with $39.98 worth of repellants. 

There was a guy sitting in his truck outside the store.  He saw our purchases and laughed.  He told us to look for caribou if there are lots of mosquitoes.  Those buggers love the caribou.  Scientists think that herds of caribou move to escape the hordes of mosquitoes.  They will expend unnecessary energy trying to get away and will even leave a place where the food source in ample.  I might have something in common with those caribou!

These machines are used to build the ice roads.  Ice roads leave less of an environmental footprint than gravel roads.  The ice roads allow equipment and supplies to be delivered all over the 250,000-acre oilfields. 

There was no sign of the grizzly bear in Deadhorse today.  Black bears don’t live further north than the Brooks Range.  Polar bears will sometimes make it across Prudhoe Bay on the ice pack.

The sign as we left town said that next services were 240 miles away in Coldfoot…here we go!

We heard yesterday that the majority of the musk ox herd was stranded on the east side of the Sag River.  The current is still too strong for them to safely cross.  Musk oxen who have crossed are in danger of being attacked by predators like grizzlies and wolves.  The larger herd more successfully protects its members.

We saw a single musk ox resting in the grass.  His ears were twitching, so we knew he was alive.  Not sure if he was injured.  He was surrounded by tons of flying insects.

A short while later, we saw this family group.  There were 6 members of all sizes.  There was even a baby that looked like a small pig in size.  He is mostly hidden by the grasses.

What an amazing sight! 

We are elated to be out here doing this together.  We talk about it every day.  With the exception of visiting family, there is nowhere I would rather be!

We traveled through more than one hundred miles of open tundra, dotted by lakes and ponds, and wildflowers.  We saw lots of birds this morning, gulls and cranes, and geese.  The land is lumpy with palsas.  These hummocks of soil and vegetation are heaved up by freezing and thawing.

The pipeline is 20 years past its engineered expiration date.  Designed to last until the early 2000’s it raises lots of questions and concerns.  The entire line was built in 3 years but it takes a lot to keep it safely maintained.  It can transport 2,000,000 barrels of oil each day but right now it is only sending 340,000 barrels a day.  This is to minimize the chances of an environmental disaster.  Portions of the pipeline are continuously being repaired and replaced.  There is a system of constant monitoring and inspection.  An agency called Clean Seas is mandated to immediately respond to any spill on the tundra greater than 16 oz.

This buried portion of the pipeline is called a sag bend. The line is designed this way to allow for animals to migrate.

We stopped at a wayside and the mosquitoes were worse than ever.  Needless to say, we didn’t hang around very long.

We had a long wait for a pilot vehicle in an area of road construction. 

The flagger could see that I was trying to take pictures and she walked over to let me know that there was an arctic squirrel out. She stood, chatting with us about the wildlife she has seen while working out here!

16 miles on a pitted loose gravel road behind the pilot truck!

We went down the hill at Icy Cut and the view was spectacular.  The water was sparkling in the sunshine.

We started to see the mountains of the Brooks Range.

All day, we were looking for Chen.  We thought we might pass him biking to Deadhorse, but we didn’t see him.

We stopped at Galbraith Lake. 

The plan as far as I knew it was to stop for some lunch and maybe to put the tent up and rest before continuing on.  We were worried about the mosquitoes here.   They were out but it was also windy.  Tim was able to situate the Jeep so that the wind was working in our favor to keep the pests away.  I crawled up into the tent with a blanket and an apple and peanut butter and a book and thought we were going to rest.  When I saw Tim moving the fire ring and gathering firewood, I knew we had decided to stay for the night.  It is very blustery.  I have spent the afternoon working on the blog from the tent.  Hopefully, the wind will calm down but still be breezy enough to blow the bugs away!

The view from my perch!

Tim took lots of pictures and made a video!

980 July 9, 2023 Prudhoe Bay

Last night we had rain, then we had wind and rain, then we had wind and then finally, it was quiet.  We slept well.  When we woke up this morning, it seemed as if the river was louder.  It had risen 5 feet overnight.  Fortunately, we were on a nice bank, 20 feet above the water. 

The mosquitoes were crazy again, so Tim got the fire going in an effort to stave them off.

There were itty bitty patches of blue sky as the clouds began to lift.

We saw the sun and we were supremely grateful!

We could see glimpses of the Brooks Range that we hadn’t been able to see at all yesterday.

We were on our way before 6am; up the Icy Cut.

Dan Creek was gushing.

Happy Valley Camp appeared to be deserted so early on this Sunday morning.

Arctic squirrels were scurrying about.

We spotted something in the Tundra far away and on closer inspection, it was a rusted 55-gallon drum.  We have been continuously scanning for wolves and grizzlies and caribou and musk oxen.  These are all animals commonly seen on this highway…but nothing!

We stopped at an exhibit and we learned that birds come here for the summer from China, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, and Africa. 

Arctic dwarf fireweed.

Sagwon Bluffs.

As we appreciate these expansive views, we realize that we are only seeing a tiny snippet of this vast wilderness.

We saw the half moon in the morning sky.

We stopped at Last Chance Waystation.  The Arctic Tundra looked amazing in the play of sun and shadows.

Pump Station #2.

We were now on the last stretch of the Dalton Highway.  It seemed almost otherworldly.  There was no other traffic.  It was so quiet.  The remoteness and the solitude were pervasive.  This is the only road in to Deadhorse and the only road out.

About 10 miles from Prudhoe Bay, we saw antlers.  There was a group of caribou in the field on the roadside.

Franklin Bluffs.

There was ice on the river.

We saw a great dark hump in the grasses near the river.  It was a musk ox.  This was exciting to see.  We had been hoping to see musk ox here!  This was the highlight of Tim’s day!

We saw geese.

We saw pacific loons.

We saw a pair of sandhill cranes.

After 499 miles of looking…the wildlife was all near the town.

We could see the oilfields in the distance.

We saw more caribou.

We arrived at Deadhorse Camp at 9:30am.  The hotel manager was surprised by our early arrival but was nice enough to make an exception and allowed us to check-in.

We took a trip into town to fuel up the Jeep.  We spotted a grizzly bear walking through the industrial site.  He was apparently born here and is 2-3 years old.  When mother grizzlies become pregnant, they leave their older offspring on their own.  This guy has been wandering around the complex.  He hasn’t bothered anyone but he is also not welcome here.  Something will happen to cause a showdown if he doesn’t go on his own.  Unfortunately, he is habituated to humans and people food.

At 3pm, we checked in for our Arctic Ocean Shuttle Tour.  Jack was our tour guide.  He told us a lot about oil production and the pipeline.  We also learned about the wildlife and the environment here in Prudhoe Bay.  We stopped at a security checkpoint where we were met by an escort.  We went to the beach.  Many people in the group chose to dive right into the ocean.  I put my feet in while Tim watched.  The water was so cold but it made me feel alive in a way that is hard to explain.  I am glad we came!

Caribou in the hotel parking lot.

We ate dinner at the Aurora Restaurant.  There was a prime rib and fried shrimp buffet this evening.  The food was good!  We ate with all of the pipeline workers who were coming off of their shift.  It takes a mighty army to get the oil from the earth and down to Valdez.

We met a couple, Debbie and Dennis, who have traveled from Georgia in their Jeep and rooftop tent.  They were on the tour today and then they joined us for dinner.  Once again, it was fun to share the evening with people who are out exploring like we are.

Look where we are…it feels unbelievable to us!

Our adventure is not over yet.  We are only halfway!  Tomorrow, we begin our journey south to Fairbanks.  We will see what tomorrow brings!

979 July 8, 2023 Chen In The Rain

The temperatures were so mild last night that we were able to leave the windows open.  We had to pull the curtains though because it was so bright outside.  It was quiet and we got a good night of sleep.

This morning it was densely cloudy.  The mountains were socked in and there was a fine drizzle. 

We started out at 8am.  We traveled the short distance to Wiseman and took the side road in to see the town; population 9.

The Koyukuk River.

The post office was in a tiny log cabin.  There were lots of cute little cottages and homesteads. 

We saw these sled dogs.

Back on the highway, the pipeline was buried beneath the river and came up on the other bank.

We had a stretch of improved road but that didn’t last very long.

We ate our breakfast at Sukakpak Mountain.

We passed the Dietrich River at MM207, halfway on the Dalton Highway!

The rain was steady and relentless.  The scenery was shrouded in fog and spectral beauty.  The mountains were shadowed and the trees stood like sentries, hemming us in.  The rivers were churning, the road snaking its way through the gloom.

The road was alternately decent and then poor.  Tim noticed that the south going side had consistently been better than the north going portion which seems rougher.  His theory is that the truckers travel north full of supplies and equipment and then return to the south with empty trailers.  That makes sense.

Then, at 2,500 feet, we were above the treeline and the last of the spruce trees.

At Chandalar Shelf, the road was muddy and slippery and it took us up a steep slope.

At Antigun Pass we saw more cloudy mountains. 

All along, we have seen the pipeline disappearing and reappearing; buried underground and then emerging again.  Here at the pass the pipeline was encased in concrete cribbage and insulated.  It was then entrenched in the earth to protect it from rockslides and avalanches.  The “construction in this area was extremely complex, difficult, and dangerous.”

You could say that the pipeline, the pumping stations, the camps, and the equipment mar the environment and they do.  However, if there was not a pipeline, there would be no need for this road.  This is the only way that most travelers can see these 60 million acres of public land.  We might also not have gas for our cars.  They say that 1,000,000 barrels of oil are produced here each day.  The pipeline is the reason for the road.  It is a huge tradeoff.

We were fervently hoping that the weather would improve once we went over Antigun Pass but it was so foggy that we couldn’t see very far in front of us; much less the top of the world panoramic views.

We came upon a guy on a bike.  It was 41 degrees.  We stopped to see if there was anything we could do for him.  He was short on food supplies.  We offered him a protein shake, a banana, and gave him part of a jar of peanut butter.  The man was obviously cold and wet and shivering and hungry.  He was determined to move on in order to stay warmer and we watched him bike up the hill.

We passed him and as we went, we felt bad that we were not able to do more to help him.  Our Jeep was loaded with our gear and supplies.  There was no way to fit him and his stuff in too.  We were going to investigate Galbraith Lake as a potential campsite for tonight.  As I was reading the Milepost, I saw that there was an emergency cabin on the road to the lake.  Tim and I went to check it out.  Though we could not get in, there was a covered front porch that we believed would make an excellent shelter.  We went back to tell the man of our discovery.  It took some convincing but he told us that he would meet us there. 

Chen is 31 years old and he is from China.  He has been traveling the world on his bike for the past 8 years.  He is a tough cyclist and was physically prepared for this journey.  He was not prepared for this onslaught of awful weather.  He met us at the cabin and by the time he had arrived I had warmed some tomato bisque and had made grilled cheese sandwiches.  When he saw the shelter and the lunch, he was so happy!  He had seconds of everything.  He shared stories of his travels.  He took our pictures.  We left him there, all of us feeling better!

We did look at Galbraith Campground but it was 46 degrees and raw and raining and the mosquitoes were outrageous.  It was still early afternoon and we decided to move on; still hoping to drive into sunshine or at least some better camping weather.  

We passed the Toolik Field Station where scientists study the climate and environment here in the Arctic.

We tried several primitive campsites by the Sagavanirktok or the Sag River.  The first several places were swampy and mosquito ridden.  We finally found a good spot.

It was still raining but it was 50 degrees here.  We got set up and organized and I climbed into the tent.  I worked on the blog this evening, sitting up in our nest, covered in layers and blankets. 

We are skipping a real dinner; we had a large lunch with Chen. 

The forecast is for some sunshine at 2am…I hope that it is correct!

978 July 7, 2023 Dalton Highway Or The Haul Road

 Each time I woke up during the night, I looked out to see what was happening in our neighborhood.  Then, I quickly went back to sleep.  At 2:30 in the morning, I took this picture from the tent.  We could occasionally hear trucks barreling down the highway but it was otherwise a peaceful sleep.

There was an intense mosquito presence this morning.  We used our whole arsenal of bug deterrents.  We sprayed with OFF and used yard fogger and built a fire and Tim tossed some green spruce branches on top to produce some smoke.  Those interventions calmed things down and we were able to enjoy our coffee by the river. 

We left our campsite at 7:00am. 

In a fire ravaged landscape, fireweed is one of the first things to regrow.

This was the view as we traveled.

The Dalton Highway!!!!

This road is a Utility Corridor for the Alaska Pipeline.  The land is managed by the BLM.  All of this is public land.  This area was the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

There was an area of road construction for 20 miles.  They were not allowing vehicles to pass through unescorted.  We had to wait for a long while for the pilot car to come and then we followed it to the end.  This highway is an interesting mix of surfaces.  There are a few paved portions, lots of patched sections, lots of gravel stretches, miles of mud, and too many potholes to count.  The industrial traffic and equipment have the right of way.  We drove slowly and carefully and gave truckers wide berth.

 We saw a doglike critter cross the road in the distance; maybe a coyote or a wolf.  By the time we passed, it was long gone.  There were poor little ground squirrels darting around…the bottom of the food chain out here.

We had driven this part of road 5 years ago.  We didn’t remember just how pretty it was.

We stopped at the Yukon River Crossing.  The bridge is 2000 feet from one side to the other.  The pipeline is close to the highway here.  This pipeline begins in Prudhoe Bay and travels 800 miles to Valdez.  To see it and to drive with it for hundreds of miles is really impressive.  The engineering and ingenuity that it took to cross three mountain ranges, the Arctic tundra, and over 800 streams and rivers is mind boggling.

At the Visitor Center, we picked up a brochure about the Dalton Highway.  There are so many warnings in the book.  There are no groceries, no banks, no ATMs, no medical facilities, and only 3 gas stations.  If you are going to travel this way, it is important to have the right vehicle and to be prepared!

There are also no billboards, no streetlights, no trash, no houses; it truly is a remote wilderness area.

It was at this point that the weather turned.  We had rain and it got foggy.  We were robbed of the beautiful views.

We stopped to walk at Finger Mountain Wayside.  This rock structure is a tor and rises 40 feet above the ground.

Mountain avens.

We arrived at the Arctic Circle.

We visited Gobblers Knob.

Prospect Camp lies in the valley below.  It is here that the official coldest temperature in the US was recorded; -80 degrees F.

This area receives about 5 inches of rain a year.  This is less than the Sonoran Desert.  Here, the summer temperatures are cooler, there is less evaporation, and the permafrost retains moisture like a giant sponge.

Grayling Lake.

There were heavy storm clouds ahead.

In Coldfoot, we went to the Arctic Visitor Center.  This place is a gem.  There are lots of incredible displays and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

There is no sunset here in Coldfoot from May 10^th until August 2^nd.  In the winter, there is no sunrise from November 18^th through January 23^rd. 

We arrived at the “town center.”  Ha-ha!!  We pumped gas for $7.49 per gallon.  Then we bought stamps at the small post office which could not accept credit cards…only cash.  We had dinner at the Trucker’s Café.  Then we checked into the swanky Coldfoot Camp.  This was a dormitory for pipeline workers.  It is very rustic and had no amenities.  But we are warm and dry and we have a nice shower!

We had a brief period of sunshine this evening and so I went out to take pictures of the town.

The forecast for tomorrow is for heavy rain.  We will see what the day brings and modify our plans if we need to!

977 July 6, 2023 Finally On Our Way

I had another nice walk on the paved path.  It was a gorgeous morning, 61 and sunny with a forecast of 75 in Fairbanks today.

We spent the day waiting to hear from the Jeep dealer.  Tim called at noon and he was told that they were actively looking at it. 

I took a nap this afternoon and when I got up, Tim had gone out on his bike.  He got tired of waiting for the dealer to call and so at 2pm, he was biking the 5 miles to the shop.  As he pedaled, a text came through from the service department.  When he got there the Jeep was finished.  Apparently, there is a recall for loose bolts and fittings in the coolant system.  That is exactly what happened.  The bolts loosened causing a seal to break and then leak.  Fortunately, this was all covered under warranty and because it was a warranty issue, they agreed to pay for our towing as well.  YAY…all fixed, all covered, all ready to roll!

Tim called from the dealer and asked if I might be willing to leave today.  Let’s go!  I made phone calls to ensure that we would have reservations for the camps and the bus tour and then I extended our stay at the campground in Fairbanks and we packed and we left at 4pm!

We stopped at Hilltop Truck Plaza to top off the tank.  We went inside hoping to find something for an easy dinner but all we could find was homemade blueberry pie!

Here we are further up the road than we made it yesterday!

This was our first glimpse of the Alaska Pipeline.  This pipeline follows the road all the way to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay.

There was very little traffic and far fewer trucks than there were yesterday morning. 

There are lots of dragonflies.  This one met his demise on the front of the Jeep.  Dragonflies eat mosquitoes and there are plenty here!

We ate our dinner at the Colorado Creek Trailhead along the Tolovana River.

We found a primitive campsite a couple of miles further.  The water cascaded over a bench of stones and the music of the river was soothing. 

Fireweed blooming on the riverbank.

We set up the rooftop tent and enjoyed our blueberry pie while we watched a beaver swimming in the river.  I was trying to get good pictures and when I stood up to get a better view, he plunged into the water with a powerful slap of his tail.  He came back again and we repeated this performance.   The third time, I left him be and he dove gently into the water.  We have seen 4-inch fish.  Maybe he is looking for supper.

Tim caught movement at the edge of the water.  The beaver had cut some small branches and he was having a feast.

He finished his meal and swam to the small waterfall.  He lumbered up and over the rocks and then gracefully dove into the river and headed upstream.

A cool bug; a common sexton beetle or carrion beetle.

976 July 5, 2023 Lemonade

We were up before our 6am alarm getting ready for our trip up the Dalton Highway. I did get a nice walk in down to the Chena River.

We were packed the Jeep and we were on the road at little after 7am. We traveled a short distance on the Elliott Highway. We heard a ding and looked at the dash. We saw bright red warning lights indicating the engine was overheating. Steam emerged from under the hood. We pulled off the road as far as we could and we saw fluid running. We tried to add water but it ran right through. We tried moving but the light immediately came on again.

When we first checked, neither of us had phone service. We needed a tow truck. Tim suddenly had a few bars and we were able to get Ron’s Tow Service. Nick arrived to rescue us within the hour. He towed us to the Fairbanks Jeep Dealer.

The service department is fully booked but once they heard our story, they promised to at least diagnose the problem this afternoon or tomorrow morning. They had a shuttle that took us back to the RV park…but first, we had to unload all the food and coolers and clothes and pillows that we had packed for our adventure. The guy was kind enough to help us load it and then unload it.

We were lucky! The trip up the Dalton is 499 miles. Fortunately, we were only 20 miles from Fairbanks when we broke down. We also had cell service to make a call for help and there is a Jeep dealer here that can take care of us. It could have been way worse!!!

We unpacked the cold things and left everything else kind of packed. We are still hopeful that we can make this trip. The company we booked through has put a hold on everything and will work with us. The campground put a hold on our site for the next two weeks so that we have a place to stay. We are certainly hoping it won’t take that long but it may be hard to get parts. We shall see.

Until then, we decided to make the best of it. Today was a gorgeous day for a bike ride. There was a farmers market a little more than three miles away. There was a nice sidewalk to ride on and Fairbanks is surprisingly flat. The market was very nice but there was nothing we really needed. The price of produce here is crazy! $20.00 for a pound of blueberries, $10.00 per pound of heirloom tomatoes; it is very hard to grow things here.

We talked to David and the boys tonight. Austin was telling us that they watched fireworks twice this weekend. I told him that it never gets dark here and that we couldn’t watch fireworks or see the moon or stars. He said “That’s impossible! It must be very hard to sleep when it is freezing and light outside!” It is fun to tell them about the places we go. Oliver wanted to know if we had seen grizzlies and sockeye salmon. They bring us such joy!

There was a nice restaurant within walking distance of the campground. We had good food and enjoyed sitting outside.

On the porch posting the blog.

Marcia, thanks for today’s quote!

975 July 4, 2023 Getting Ready

I walked huge laps around lots of big box stores this morning.  There was a nice sidewalk and I was able to do 4 miles.  We knew there was no rush to get to Rivers Edge Campground in Fairbanks.  We were just 8 miles away.  We left way too early and arrived at 9:30am.  We were told that there was a firm policy in place and that no one could check in before noon.  They were kind enough to let us dump tanks and use the car/RV wash for both vehicles.  They gave us the WIFI password so that I could post the blog and they gave us the codes to the laundry room.  We had an extremely productive morning!

At noon we moved to our site.  We spent the day packing and preparing.  Tomorrow, we begin our grand adventure.  We are planning to drive the 499 miles to the Arctic Ocean.  We are leaving the RV here in this campground in Fairbanks.  The Dalton Highway is no place for our RV…though some people risk it! 

Tomorrow we will cross the Arctic Circle and we have a room reserved at Coldfoot Camp.  Thursday we will sleep in the rooftop tent.  Friday, we have a room at Deadhorse Camp.  Saturday morning, we will take the bus at Prudhoe Bay to the Arctic Ocean because no one is allowed to travel there without an escort.  This is the site of the largest oil field in North America.  That evening, we plan to tent out.  Sunday we will stay in Coldfoot and Monday, we will drive back to Fairbanks.  This trip required some planning and coordination.  Security clearance is necessary to take the bus to Prudhoe Bay. 

We are excited…we never know what we are going to see!  It is unlikely that we will be able to post the blog.  To be sure, we will be taking lots of pictures and we will have stories to share when we get back next week.

974 July 3, 2023 Nenana

I walked this morning from our site to each end of the lake and back several times.  I was careful to keep the RV in sight.

There was another early Jeep tour.

The swans had paddled across the water and were as close as I think they might get to people.  I took more swan pictures.

When we went to leave, our slideouts would not budge.  We finally figured out that it was a blown fuse.  We were able to replace the burnt out one with the one that controls my captain’s chair.  The slides moved in and we moved on!

There was a small gas station at the end of Denali Highway where we were able to fill with propane. 

We drove past Denali National Park.  We will return here in the beginning of August when Kyle and Allison come.

The view…stunning!

We stopped again for diesel and a few groceries.

Nenana is a quaint little Alaskan town.  We left the RV at the Visitor Center and took a walk to the train depot. 

On our way we met Jerry Riley.  This man was walking down the street and he stopped to talk with us.  He wanted to know where we were from and what we used to do for a living.  He is now 86 years old.  In 1976, he was the fourth person to win the Iditarod.  He competed for many years after that.  It was fun to chat with him!

At the train depot, the guy there was full of interesting information.  He told us about the Ice Classic.  This is Nenana’s claim to fame.  Each June, the town erects a 26-foot tripod made of spruce.  In the spring, this tripod is placed over the frozen river.  The tripod is placed on the ice.  When the ice breaks, the tripod tips over and a clock records the time of break up.  In the meantime, from February to April, the town works hard to sell tickets.  Each ticket is $3.00 and the entrant guesses the date and time that the ice will break.  The winner gets 60% of the proceeds.  The remaining money pays for expenses and then the rest is donated to local scholarship funds and food pantries.  Usually about 100,000 tickets are sold.  Tim bought his ticket and made his guess!  There is a website with a live feed where you can check to see if the ice is breaking.  In 2023, the official time was May 8^th at 4:01pm.

One of the longest single trestle railroad bridges in the US.

Over another river!

As we traveled the remainder of the Parks Highway, we could see glimpses of the Alaska Range.  The view across the Valley was beautiful, even on such a cloudy day.

We were on our way to the Ester Community Park.  Last time we were in Alaska, we stayed here.  We pulled in and there was a guy doing the landscaping.  He lives onsite.  He told us that we were not able to stay.

We decided to head to the Walmart in Fairbanks.  We had planned to go tomorrow anyway, to stock up on supplies.  We did a big shop and then went to Fred Meyer for some groceries.

973 July 2, 2023 Joe Lake

I walked through the campground this morning.  I stayed on the pavement until the end. 

I walked part of the Moose Flats Trail.  I wanted to see the view from the rock where Tim sat yesterday.  Denali was almost entirely invisible.  The giant, hiding in the clouds.  It is difficult to fathom how something so immense can be completely hidden from view.

At over 20,000 feet, Denali, similar to other high peaks, dictates its own weather…though today the whole sky was thick and grey.

Later in the morning, we caught tiny glimpses of blue sky and bits of sunshine.  The views as we traveled through Broad Pass are usually the prettiest on this stretch of highway.  Today there were lots of clouds.

We made a stop at Jam Jams Spot.  This terrific little restaurant sits on the corner of Parks Highway and Denali Highway.  I made some phone calls and made some reservations, making use of the good phone service.  Tim went in to get us coffee and came out with the most delicious breakfast sandwich I have ever had!  We were able to use their WIFI to post yesterday’s blog.  It was a very productive stop.  We will come here again when the kids come!

We took Denali Highway to the east.  The first 2.5 miles were paved, then the road was gravel.  It was decent and hardpacked and we drove another 5.5 miles to Joe Lake.  There was a couple fishing but they soon left and we pulled next to the fire ring and set up to spend the night.  This is our front yard!  This is where we live today!

There was more blue sky.

I took a walk for a short distance in each direction.  There were lots of moose hoof prints in the mud.

We watched a family of swans.  They stayed on the distant shore.

In late afternoon, a couple in a truck camper came to fish in the lake.  Tim helped the woman get her inflatable kayak into the water.

We enjoyed a campfire and then grilled our dinner. 

The swans swam closer and they became our evening entertainment. I took dozens of pictures trying to get a couple of good ones.

After 8pm, a Jeep tour, about 10 Jeeps, stopped at the lake. They had 5 minutes to take pictures and appreciate the beauty of this place. The Jeeps drove in a long line. Everyone got out and the guides posed the groups on a rock by the water and took exactly the same three views for each. Wow…we get to spend 24 hours here, enjoying all the moments and taking it all in!

This is a lovely spot.

972 July 1, 2023 Majestic Denali

I was walking near the campground in Trapper Creek and I had a clear view of the mountains.  I had a feeling that today was going to be a great day to see Denali.

A crazy store stuffed with all kinds of odds and ends.  There are actually lots of places that look like this here in Alaska…even some houses!  You never know when you might need a piece of something!

We drove north on Parks Highway and it wasn’t long before we could see it!

We saw a mama moose and her two calves grazing in the roadside ditch.  We saw another solitary moose in a broad meadow.

We planned to drive to Denali South Viewpoint where we knew we could also camp.  We got out and took pictures and walked the short trail to the top and took more pictures.  Denali was in full glory today.  The weather was perfect!

We decided to try other Denali State Campgrounds.  This viewpoint was really busy with busses and lots of other traffic.  It was early in the day and so we moved on.  This was the best decision.

Just about a mile down the road, there was the K’esugi Ken Campground.  This is a relatively new park.  The entrance road went uphill.  We could see glimpses of the mountains as we traveled.  There were no available campsites and we were disappointed.  We had seen some interesting trails.  We parked at the Interpretive Center.  I got out to pay the day use fee and saw that if you talked to the ranger, there was a place for overflow RV camping. 

We are parked in the day use area and can now stay here overnight.  We rested for a short time and then we went to see the sights and walk the trails.

This is a beautiful park and the scenic views were incredible.  There was no one else out hiking with us and so we could just stop and sit on rocks and in the silence, we could appreciate the grandeur. 

This was the best place to see the terminus of the Ruth Glacier.  It actually sits in the deepest gorge in the world. 

Looking at my pictures, I see that most of them are of THE MOUNTAIN.  Only about 30% of people who come here actually get to see Denali…how lucky are we?

We went to the ranger talk this evening.  The tile was “The Fiercest Predator.”  Ranger Cindy talked about the life cycle of the mosquito.  Nine months ago, last year’s mosquitoes laid their last raft of eggs in the water.  The eggs lay frozen over the winter season.  About 8 weeks ago, the eggs began to hatch.  The larvae lived in ponds and lakes and in the past week, are now fully grown and ready to begin the cycle again.  We are in peak mosquito season.  They are annoying to be sure but there are not near as many as in the Outer Banks or in Assateague.  The ranger is a retired science teacher.  She had lots of research to share.  Her message though was simple.  Mosquitoes have a purpose in this place.  They are accidental pollinators and they are a primary food source for many species of bats and birds.  Mosquito larvae also leave a pond cleaner and less polluted.

The ranger told us that there is a mama moose in the park. Female moose like to be near people and dogs when they give birth. This gives them some protection from large predators like bears and wolves. This mama had two calves in May. Two weeks ago, during the night, a grizzly took one of the calves. Another reminder about where we are. This is sad but it is also the circle of life. Only 10% of moose babies make it to the following autumn.

The wood frog is the only amphibian that lives here.  There are no snakes or reptiles at all.

After the program we took another walk on the Moose Flats Trail.  Denali looked completely different in the evening light.  It was 8pm and there are still 4 hours until sunset at 12:14am.  I wonder what it might look like then!