Archive for September 2013

Denali National Park, Part 2

The morning of our first full day in the park dawned… Overcast and rainy. We had a reservation on a shuttle bus out to the end of the park road (90 miles from the entrance and 60 miles from our campground), and we figured we might as well spend a rainy day riding a bus and looking for wildlife. We saw some Dall sheep and a couple of grizzlies during our bus ride, but other than that the scenery was limited. We stopped at the excellent (and LEED Platinum certified) Eielson Visitor Center at about mile 60 for lunch and learned about early climbing expeditions to the peak.

A Dall sheep looks out into the rain from his perch atop a cliff.

A Dall sheep looks out into the rain from his perch atop a cliff.

Just to prove we rode the bus as far as possible

Just to prove we rode the bus as far as possible

We also found out that the mountain hadn’t been visible for the past week, and that the forecast for the next day wasn’t much different from today. The round trip bus ride took almost 9 hours along the winding dirt road, with stops for bathroom breaks and wildlife viewing. On the way back most of the passengers were asleep and the windows were covered with grime, so we couldn’t have seen anything anyway. We dreamed of sunny Baja beaches…

Quinn was a trooper on the long ride, with the help of videos on the Kindle Fire and a game of word association with a very patient mom.

When we woke up the next morning we were startled when we unzipped the windows of our pop-top. What is that up there? Who turned the clouds blue? What hath the gods wrought? And later, a strange burning orb appears in the sky! It must be the end times! Repent!

Blue skies!!

Blue skies!!

With renewed hope, we roused Quinn from slumber, tossed a bowl of cereal at him, made a quick pot of coffee and threw some food for lunch in our packs. Not wanting to tempt fate, we also packed warm clothes and rain gear, and headed out to the bus stop.

We were fortunate to get on the first bus that came by (we only had reservations for the first day – subsequent use of the buses is on a space available basis). Not wanting to do the whole 9 hour trip again, we rode out to Eielson Visitor Center and did a nice hike up to a ridge line for some spectacular views of Denali and the surrounding landscape. Quinn didn’t much like the cold wind at the top, but he insisted on completing the hike.

We did a 2 hour, ranger led hike about 900 feet up a ridge behind the visitor center.

We did a 2 hour, ranger led hike about 900 feet up a ridge behind the visitor center.

Later in the visitor center, he started playing with a couple of kids about his age and excitedly dragged them over to a window where he pointed at the mountain we had just climbed and told them about his hike!

The bus trip and the hike afforded some spectacular views of Denali as well as the abundant wildlife in the park. Here are a few photos. And here are a few more.

One of 4 grizzlies we spotted from the bus

One of 4 grizzlies we spotted from the bus

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Quinn meets a friend on the bus ride back to camp. Sofie is 5, from the Czech Republic, and speaks 3 languages fluently!

Quinn meets a friend on the bus ride back to camp. Sofie is 5, from the Czech Republic, and speaks 3 languages fluently!

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More fall colors on the way out of the park

More fall colors on the way out of the park

The Denali Highway and Denali National Park (Part 1)

We’ve just finished up a 3-day stay in Denali National Park and have come back to civilization (meaning internet access) to news of the incredible flooding along the Front Range of Colorado, home to many of our good friends. We hope everyone is safe and dry, and our best wishes go out to those affected by the disaster.

We took almost 350 photos in the park, so this is going to have to be a two-part update! Let’s dive in, starting with our trip across the Denali Highway.

Undeterred by previous bad luck on long dirt highways and with a couple of extra days before our campground reservation in the national park, we decided to take the long way from Fairbanks and drive across the Denali Highway. After stocking up on 5 days’ worth of food, we set out from Fairbanks headed south in the rain. We turned onto the Denali Highway and drove 20 miles to the first campground along the road at Tangle Lakes. The next morning we decided to go for a short hike near the campground to enjoy the fall colors – we also got to see a moose and her calf pretty close up!

Our campsite at Tangle Lakes

Our campsite at Tangle Lakes

Moose!

Moose!

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The next day was long, traversing the remaining 100 odd miles of the dirt highway. This area is popular with local sportsmen – most of the vehicles we saw were hunters equipped with an RV to stay in along with a trailer hauling ATVs for traveling out into the bush. These guys take their hunting seriously and have the gear to prove it!

The Susitna River

The Susitna River

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At the western end of the road where it joins with the Parks Highway was our first opportunity to see Denali (the peak). Unfortunately, the day had been overcast with rain (as usual) and in addition to not being able to see what were supposed to be beautiful views of other mountains and glaciers north of the highway, Denali was shrouded in mist.

We headed north to the town of Healy to fuel up before heading into the park. We happened past the local micro brewery and couldn’t resist stopping for dinner and a brew and to watch a little football. We camped that night at Riley Campground, just inside the park entrance.

Most visitors to Denali are restricted to riding on park buses to access the bulk of the park. On the recommendation of Alice of Do Good as You Go, we had made reservations at Teklanika campground, 30 miles into the park. Other than a road lottery on the last 4 days of the park’s season, that’s the only way you can drive your own vehicle that far into the park. From the campground, though, you still have to use shuttle buses to get the rest of the way into the park.

The next morning the weather seemed more promising. After breakfast we went to the park visitor center to try to figure out which shuttle buses we had reservations for during our 3-day stay at the Teklanika campground. The whole thing is kind of confusing, and not well explained unless you know what questions to ask.

We headed into the park and found our campsite. It was too late by then to do much exploring, so we set up camp and went for a short walk along the Teklanika River. Our bus reservations that will be taking us all the way to the end of the park road are for Wednesday morning at 9am. We’re going to have to get up early!!

Yay! Another river to throw rocks into! This trip is so great.

Yay! Another river to throw rocks into! This trip is so great.

Sunset over the Teklanika River

Sunset over the Teklanika River

Fairbanks

Our first order of business in Fairbanks was to take the van for a maintenance checkup. After a thorough check-up, they replaced the fuel filter and the rear brakes and rotated our tires.

While the van was in the shop we took a cab to Pioneer Park. It’s a great little park complex close to downtown Fairbanks that has restaurants, playgrounds, and museums on airplanes, trains, and sternwheeler boats.

Not quite beach weather, but still fun!

Not quite beach weather, but still fun!

This area is really shutting down for the season. Only stragglers like us are left in the RV parks, and most of the attractions, including the train ride that we had been promising Quinn, have closed. The airplane museum was open however and was quite impressive. It was also wonderful to be able to get out of the cold and rain for awhile.

For dinner we went to the Silver Gulch Brewing Company. The beer was excellent, and the food went down just fine. We also were treated to some live bagpipe music in honor of the 50th birthday party at the table next to us. Witt bought a stainless steel bottle opener as a souvenir from the brewery gift shop that he has already fastened to the storage box on the back of our van. All in all it was a fabulous evening!

This morning we went to the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. The museum has only been here since 2009, but it was unbelievable how much they’ve collected, restored and displayed in that short span of time. They had 38 vintage cars dating from 1904 to 1936 and nearly all of them were in working and pristine condition. Some are one of a kind and are worth millions of dollars. In addition, on the walls they had large photos of the first cars of Fairbanks, including the ones that literally helped to establish the roads (from existing horse trails) on the route from Fairbanks to Valdez. To top it off, they also had authentic clothing displays from the same eras as each of the cars. Fantastic!

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Since in the afternoon it was still rainy Quinn and I went to the local rec center for a swim while Witt went grocery shopping in preparation for our trip to Denali. This rec center didn’t have a slide and was just a basic rectangular pool, so it wasn’t quite up to par with our Canadian experiences. Nevertheless we had some good fun and Quinn was happy to get some water time.

Tomorrow we head south toward Denali National Park. We are hoping for some good weather — please wish us luck!

Alaska!

The mechanic spent Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning working on the van. In they end they bypassed the tank selector and hooked it up directly to the front tank. At least we were on the road again!

We departed on Wednesday around noon for our second attempt at the Top of the World Highway. The leaves were definitely more vibrant, but it was also overcast and rainy, so the views weren’t as good as they were on Monday. Our welcome back to the US was in the form of 13 miles of road construction. It was raining off and on, and the mud was just as bad if not worse than what we encountered on the Dempster. Eventually the road improved, and we made it back to the Alaska Highway at around 5pm and found a state park to camp in.

Fall colors on the Top of the World Highway

Fall colors on the Top of the World Highway

Finish that sandwich before the rain gets here!

Finish that sandwich before the rain gets here!

Here it comes!

Here it comes!

Yay! More mud!

Yay! More mud!

The Alaska Highway was constructed right after the US entered World War II to establish a supply route to help protect North America from an invasion. I’ve been wondering why it was necessary to build an overland supply route when stuff could easily be brought in by ship. A helpful exhibit at the state park explained it. In addition to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese also attacked and even occupied several of the Aleutian Islands. Leadership at the time was concerned that Japan would be able to close the shipping lanes in the Pacific.

The next day, after a stop in Tok to stock up on Alaska tourist info, we headed for Fairbanks. We stopped in the town of North Pole, where we were supposed to be able to see Santa Claus. Santa was on vacation, and the rest of the place was just a year-round Christmas store, so that was sort of a bust. We headed into Fairbanks and found a campground to spend the night.

A nice spot for lunch

A nice spot for lunch

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A big, snowy mountain that we don’t know the name of

Dawson City again… and again

Robert Service is a well known local bard

Robert Service is a well known local bard

We spent Saturday in Dawson City. Jen did laundry and I took Quinn to the museum (which had a train shed) and to a playground. The next day we started off on the last leg of our journey to Alaska on the Top of the World Highway. As advertised, the unpaved road keeps to the hilltops and ridges, providing amazing views.

Dawson City and the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike rivers

Dawson City and the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike rivers

Trains!!

Trains!!

On the Top of the World Highway

On the Top of the World Highway

We were about halfway to the US border when the van stuttered and died again, just like on the Dempster. Ugh.

This time I was pretty sure I could get us moving again, and since it was relatively warm and dry out, I broke out the tools and disappeared under the van. First I tried to actuate the fuel tank switch manually by applying voltage to the terminals of the switch, but no luck. Seems like the switch really is fried this time. No problem, just switch the two fuel supply lines – then we should be running off the front tank, right? I switched the lines, and after cleaning the worst of the diesel fuel off of my hands the van started up and we were on our way… for about 3 minutes. Frustrated and out of ideas, we coasted back down the hill to a pullout.

We flagged down the next car that came by. It happened to by Martin and his wife Diana who live in Dawson City and were out leaf peeping. With Martin’s help, we tried bypassing the tank selector and splicing fuel line from the tank directly into the line feeding the engine. We weren’t sure which fuel line came from the front tank, so we tried both, but with no luck.

Martin and his wife then drove two hours back to Dawson to get fuel for the back tank. With the fuel lines re-connected and fuel in the tank, the van still wouldn’t start. So out came the tow rope and Martin generously towed us back to town, leaving us at the only auto repair shop in town, where we planned to spend the night (and possibly the next day since Monday was a holiday).

Martin towed us back to town

Martin towed us back to town

Of course, when we tried to start the van back in town, it fired right up. We drove across the street to an RV park to spend the night. At least we got showers, but by then it was too late to make dinner, so we had Wow butter (a soy peanut butter substitute that curiously has been available almost everywhere in Canada) and jelly sandwiches.

The next morning we learned that the repair shop wouldn’t be open until Tuesday. Since our battery will only operate our diesel heater for about 1 night without sunny days or driving to recharge the battery, we decided to get a hotel in town. We drove the 2km back to town and checked in at the Eldorado Hotel. We spent the day sightseeing and playing in playgrounds. I went for a hike along the trail that circumnavigates town. They left a lot of the old artifacts from the settlers who built cabins there during the boom days along the trail. It sort of looks like rusty old junk, but it does add an element of history to the trail.

Downtown Dawson City

Downtown Dawson City

On Tuesday morning I called the repair shop. The soonest they could get me in was at 4pm, so we headed out into the rain to visit a couple of the remaining museums on the list, including the firefighting museum and an excellent First Nations cultural museum.