Leaving Denali

Well, I found my CD and backed it up on my T-drive. I didn't even have to tear that much of the house apart.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, animals...

Anyway, here's some more caribou.

Of course, every time I was ready to take a pic, this little family would turn tail (literally) and bolt.

Ok, everyone get together and sit in a circle... 

ready?

Duck...

Duck...

MOOSE! (Embrace the geek.)

I hope you can find the bears in that picture.

Those tiny white specks...those are big horn sheep. Enlarge the picture and you can see slightly larger tiny white specks.

Same Eagle? You betcha!

He really is pretty majestic.

I don't really remember what these are...but they were small and cute and probably only minutes away from being picked off by the eagle...

 I have foxes in my own neighborhood...but I was still happy to see him.

Now, this is the first time I'd ever used a camera like Dawn's ...it's huge, comes in a pelican case with a variety of lenses, weighs...I'd say roughly eight, nine...hundred pounds. I was really grateful she lent it to me though, because I'd left the main battery for my own camera back at camp...in the charger...

...because I'm an idiot.

(I discovered this after setting off on the bus tour part of the trip. I had a small point-and-shoot cam as well, but it died almost immediately. "Well, just use some of those spare batteries you surely packed on this possibly once in a lifetime adventure," you might say. I'd say, "spare batteries?" So yes, I had three cameras and no extra batteries.)

I am a college graduate.

I did find a couple of old, nearly dead lithiums in my backpack...I'd used them previously and just hadn't disposed of them. Through what I'm guessing was the battery equivalent of the Hanukkah miracle, they lasted for over eight hours. That's right...they just kept going, and going, and going. (I think God took mercy on me.) Because of that, I have pictures from the first part of the trip up to the mountain...and thanks to Dawn, pics of everything after. ( I didn't want to risk running her battery down before McKinley...because, well...we've already covered that spare battery bit...)

Anyway, eventually it was time to leave Denali and head towards Chena.

Which involved, of course...wildfires. Now, thankfully we really weren't that involved with them. We mostly just saw the towering plumes as we drove down the highway...but man, Alaska was burning.  Over a million acres burned in July. The largest fire was near Nenana...guess where we drove to...

Yep.

See you at the Ice Hotel!

Wonder Lake

(When I first saw this, I thought it was Denali, Mt. McKinley, but it's actually a smaller peak in the range, but I am unsure which. Still I was pretty thrilled to see it. Denali was still quite hidden.)

Well, I've come to the conclusion that I will never catch up on posting. So, I'm going to try to get through Alaska and then just condense everything from the past...year? and put it into one gigantopost. I've got a lot going on right now that I'd like to keep track of and it seems the only way to do it is to give up on catching up with past posts.

So, here's an eagle.


This is a Golden Eagle, which is actually the largest breed. This particular bird followed us around a good
bit. He swooped, soared, and was generally majestic.


The surrounding scenery was stunning. (Still at Eielson.)


These antlers-bull moose-were found locked together like this. Or, in other words, these guys literally fought to the death. One of the horns had actually pierced the eye socket of the opposite's skull, which of course, would have been tremendously unpleasant for that particular moose. In the end, they starved to death. It's a bit sad, but well, that's nature. She's not always butterflies and rainbows you know. They're displayed at The Eielson Visitor Center.


As are the pelts from many of the creatures that inhabit the park. These all died of natural causes.


There is an artist in residence program at Denali. I found this tremendously cool. The above picture is a quilt piece made by one of the artists. I think it was my favorite simply because it was both simple and extremely complex. I wouldn't mind having that position.

Anyway, on we go to Wonder Lake.


We were headed out to Wonder Lake to camp for the night. Even though the smoke from the fires was heavy and obscuring the mountain ranges, the scenery was still beautiful. The lake itself was surrounded by lush foliage, berry bushes, and was just calm and lovely.

(Panorama!)

(I love lake stones.)

After wandering around for a while, exploring the lake, the land, the bathhouses, and various campsites, we pitched our tents. Actually, we might have done that first, but I don't remember, though, we probably did so that we could dump our stuff inside. FYI, you are not allowed to have any food or water at your campsite...or deodorant, toothpaste, or any other 'human smelling' object. After use, all of these things have to be sealed in the bear locker...because the last thing anyone wants is a Grizzly nosing them in the middle of the night trying to get at their stick of Secret. (Strong enough for a man but made for a woman...or a hungry bear.)

Now, I'm going to relay a little story about my good friend...my. good. friend. David. While we were out walking, we were having a conversation about some of life's issues, spirituality, walking with God, striking out on your own, and how unpleasant getting eaten by a bear must be. Well, we're traipsing along and all of a sudden there is a rustle in the bushes. All of a sudden, a girlish shriek fills the air and I find myself being unceremoniously being shoved forward towards whatever the sound is. Dave, is now located behind me (cowering...and shoving.) I look down and see this:

(Not a bear.)

The following conversation takes place:

"David, what...are you doing?"

"I, ah, haha, I thought it was a bear."

"It was just a squ- wait...you thought what? You were going to shove me INTO A BEAR!?"

Silence.

"Uh...well...don't tell anyone."

*Incredulous look.
"I'm telling EVERYONE!"

Suffice to say, I no longer trust David when it comes to survival.

(Does not want to be eaten by a bear.)

After a fine dinner of peanut butter on white bread, some apples, and a candy bar, we turned in for the night. The ground was hard and stony, even with the sleeping bag, but at least it was cold and bright all night.

("Sunset" in Alaska, in July...should not be mistaken for a literal event.)

Still, it was just the fact that we were where we were, that made putting up with the discomfort worth it.
The next morning was going to be our last chance to see Denali, which was one of my life goals...so imagine how I felt when I woke up to this:


The smoke from the fires was horrendous. Where it had been hazy the day before, it was nearly like a blanket now. However, I had faith that I was going to see this mountain...and I don't mean through a sky like grey pea soup! Honestly, I prayed, long and hard that God was going to let me see it, and I actually had complete confidence after that, that He would. Denali is visible 20% of the time. When we arrived at Eielson, a strange wind began to blow...

Dancing in Fat Mud

So, camp ends. However, that doesn't mean the fun is over, oh no! Immediately after camp, Lena, Boardwalk, Chance, and Myself headed down to the Tanana River for some...river...stuff. (This is from two different areas of the river, on two different days.)


This is right outside of Delta Junction.


We forged the river, strong current, knee deep water, and the stones on the bottom tried to eat my feet, but no oxen died, we didn't drown, and nobody got Dysentery! We also discovered the wonder of 'fat mud,' at least, that's what we call it. The best term to describe it is 'gushy.' More on that later...


I believe this is midway between Delta and Salcha. It's just a huge flood plane and it's lovely. It was so green at the time, the river was high on the banks, and the mountains were so gorgeous...


see?


Considering the wildfires absolutely ravaging the entire landscape, we were lucky to see anything. More on that later too. They were spectacular though, the smoke plumes were huge.


Anyway, back to good times. Lena playing in the fatmud. Here, it's just a hand, but pretty soon, we took a step further...


...and got knee deep! Now, I must say, this is actually a dangerous thing to do. People have gotten stuck and died in the mud, but well, we're just horrible examples ok?


I'm knee deep here...in this horrible picture...where I apparently have elf ears.


There was no solid ground! Chance and Lena, all of us, we just kind of plopped our way through the mire. It was great! That mud, makes the most satisfying sounds ever, just so you know. The gushiness of that stuff is absolutely spectacular!


The haze in the sky made for some gorgeous sunsets. This is right outside of Fairbanks.


It's simply serene.