Saturday, May 25, 2019
Last night we fueled the vehicles then fueled ourselves with fish 'n' chips in Priddis, Alberta Canada. The nice lady at the gas station gave us permission to overnight in the parking lot of a community center.
Today we had our first moose scare as a young male started to cross the highway in front of us. Thankfully, he realized the error of that plan, lunging back toward the woods at the sound of our car horns. Whew!
Tonight we are overnighting in a not-so-quaint, but definitely serviceable, rest area near Little Smoky, Alberta. I've been watching ravens cavort overhead. Maybe they think if they are amusing I'll dig out some treats - NOT HAPPENING!
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| Community center in Priddis. |
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| Cute church right across the street in Priddis. |
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We were parked right next to the old hockey rink.
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Monday, May 27, 2019
A day & a half delay due to an alignment problem on my trailer. All's well thanks to Boe's RV and United Spring and Brake in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Great work!
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| The cats spent about 6 hours in their travel boxes in the shade at Dawson Creek Park. It was 80 degrees here and will be 85 tomorrow when we depart. Bonnie and I lazed about watching ravens, magpies and local toddlers enjoying the park. |
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| A big thank you to Pam Kennedy! This blanket that she and Bill gave to me at least 12 years ago has traveled everywhere. Today it suffered the insult of getting covered with obnoxious cottonwood goo as I lay under a tree. Up here tree parts attach themselves to everything with a green sticky, staining substance. The blanket fared much better than my tan jeans. |
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| When we were safely home tonight Tighe lay in wait to pounce on Zuni when she emerged from using the litter box. |
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| Zuni escapes marauding Tighe in the peace and security of her travel container. . . |
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| While Tighe finally sacks out on the kitchen countertop. Tomorrow we drive north on the Alaska Highway! |
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Tire lugs retorqued, a rest stop at Sasquatch Crossing, next stop as far as we can get up the road. (Wow, $160/night!)
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| Sasquatch Crossing, great coffee and hot from the fryer, best doughnuts this side of the Canadian Rockies. Also "just like Amy makes" mouthwatering brands muffins with raisins. |
12 hour travel day. 15 black bear roadside, 3 moose galumphing along through the wide berm, 2 lonely sandhill cranes, 6 mountain goats, and a waddly young porcupine. 💕
The first black bear we saw was huge, reclining in a little gully sunbathing and seeming to love watching the traffic go by. Too much traffic to stop to take photos of him and most of the other wild life.😥
I stopped for the one bear shown below, but we also saw a group of 4 foraging together.
Get a gander of the scenery from our roadside turnout/overnight campsite along Muncho Lake. Wow!
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| So many black bears! I was up this way 7 years ago, but it was 3-4 weeks earlier in the season and the bears were crazy hungry after coming out of hibernation. By this time of year they have eaten a fair amount. |
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| A little out of focus. There were 4 mountain goats camouflaged on the mountainside. Two more forced me to stop in the middle of my traffic lane on a down-sloping curve (!) while they crossed 4 feet in front if my car. Honestly, I was so worried that another vehicle would barrel into me that I couldn't consider taking a photo. |
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| The view from the site we chose for tonight. Bliss! |
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| Two tired kitties, happy to be stopped for the night. |
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
When we woke up today we had a very curious early morning visitor.
More of today's travels from Muncho Lake overnight through nasty construction to the town of Teslin. We have internet and probably won't tomorrow.
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| I tried to find my "Safety Amy" license plate in Watson Lake from 2012, but couldn't. If anyone ever sees it send me a photo please. |
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| 28 wild buffalo |
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| Flowers at Contact Creek where grandpa pumps your gas and gramma sells coffee & cool gifts. Cheapest gas around. |
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| This part of the 5 mile construction zone was wetted down. Boy, the clouds of dust were awful! |
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| Gift shop in Teslin where we have stopped to have dinner. |
Thursday, May 30, 2019
In Tok, Alaska tonight & only 200 miles until we reach North Pole. Crazy bumpy bouncy roads today, but a really rewarding drive. See grizzlies below!
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| No moose at last night's rest area, but pretty flowers and 60 degree weather giving respite from the near 90's and extremely windy conditions the last 3 days. |
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| The first glimpses of Kluane Provincial Park. Vision obscured by smoke from an as-yet not contained Bear Creek wildfire which is threatening evacuation of Haines Junction. Kluane is home of Canada's tallest mountains and the Kluane glacier. |
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| More Kluane. |
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| Another way to travel. Bus with tourists at Destruction Bay. |
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| The best of today! Three brown bear (grizzlies) feeding along the road. Wow! |
Saturday, June 1, 2019
In North Pole, Alaska. Today I explored the area where I'll be working and attended volunteer orientation. There are 6 of us and about 10-12 staff. If you enjoy history you may enjoy a YouTube video from the 70's which describes the project. (Chena Project: Man and Nature in Harmony) They aren't kidding about the popularity of this place! Despite the rain and cold, today there were hundreds of people here attending 2 special events.
P.S. - our senior ranger reiterated that we are welcome to have friends or family stay onsite with us. Just let me know when to pick you up at the Fairbanks airport & bring a sleeping bag.
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| Check out a video on You Tube about this project. This is the same sign as in the video! We'll be building a much nicer flower box and filling it with flowers of course. |
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| Especially for my mom, this is what the woods look like. |
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| A typical visitor campsite. |
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| The same water pump as in the video, I think! |
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| The lake area with vegetation 40-50 years more mature. |
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| L to R: me, Kathy, Teresa, Bonnie posing in front of the visitor center |
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| Before we weeded . . . |
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| After we weeded. Kathy & Teresa's husbands (Pat & Lonn,) were busy building flower boxes elsewhere. Pat & I thought the horsetail grass was beautiful, but apparently real Alaskans consider it a nuisance. |
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| This cabin belongs to the borough, but I sure wish I could live in it! It was formerly used to host wounded veterans for a moose hunting weekend. The program was abandoned a few years ago because there weren't too many veterans participating. Nice idea though - the rangers helped the vets do the hunting then dressed the moose for consumption. |
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| Wild Iris |
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| Home sweet home! I brought the 10 x 14 tent as a screened patio in case the mosquitoes are bad. |
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| Our big concrete pad, the Polaris 4WD vehicle provided, shed in the background and the tent. |
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
It's a little difficult to explain how light it is at night here so here are two photos. One at 9:24 tonight, the second at 1:28 tonight. It will be slightly dimmer at 3:30 but not much. And the longest day is not until June 21st!
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| Sunny changing to black! |
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| Black sky with 10 degree temperature drop. Left with barely a whimper. |
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| Cottonwood sapling with artsy looking infestation. |
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| Wild Rose's with eye-catching fungus. |
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| Fire weed, |
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| Lupine |
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| Spotted lady's slipper orchid |
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| A large patch of the lady slipper orchids. |
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Slight change of plan - moved to Denali and am on the trail of a job for the season. I feel like I"m in heaven!
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| Laughing because another tourist jumped in to take my photo after watching my selfie/no- selfie dilemma. |
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| Bronze grizzly at visitor center. |
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| Lynx and snowshoe hare diorama at visitor center. Bust or boom for both critters since lynx almost exclusively eat the hare. |
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| Beef stew on the patio of the Morino Cafe - what a serene view! |
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| Pollinators very busy in this extremely short season. |
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| More pollinators. . . |
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| Wow! View from the visitor center parking lot. |
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| One of the vistas from the park road this evening. One can only drive a personal vehicle in about 15 miles to Savage River. After that access is by tour bus only. BTW - no photo, but the clouds cleared and Denali was visible from my location on the park road 80 miles away. |
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| Passing storms miles away created this mini rainbow. |
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Quiet day. Rainy & cold, sunny & cold, now just plain cold.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
So many great sights today! Hiked about 7 miles before the skies darkened and the rain started. I covered front country trails Horseshoe Lake, Taiga Trail to the visitor center, McKinley Station to Riley Creek Campground, then back to the starting trailhead by the railway.
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| Moose mom and her twins. Best of all she chased some visitors for getting too close! |
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| View of Horseshoe Lake. That dot in the middle of the lake is a moose we see repeatedly on the trail. I was pressed into service to hike with three other very nice ladies because they were terrified of the big animals. We had a great time. |
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| Heading towards the beaver dam. |
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| Yep, that's it! |
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| Alaskan jay, kind of hard to find & being studied by the park regarding climate change, food availability, and other factors. |
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| This is my gal! She was feeding down near the river, but worked her way back to the lake before we left the area. Note the huge scar on her left flank which I guessed was from a bear attack. A ranger confirmed my guess. Since she has no calf, she probably gave birth but a bear took it and she got wounded trying to fight it off. In 2012 when I first arrived at Denali, a black bear took down a moose calf right in front of the Riley Creek Mercantile. That story is now legendary here at Denali! |
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| Awesome, so pretty! |
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| Me at the foot of the Nenana River. |
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| The railroad trestle is a favorite destination for photographers as the trains are going into/out of the depot in the park. |
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| A brand new wild rose. Some of them are this lovely dark pink while others the more common lighter pink. |
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| The squirrels here are so cute, about half the size of those in the lower 48, and they bounce around on all 4 feet most of the time. |
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| I love this flower just unfurling today. |
Monday, June 17, 2019
At the Three Bears Alaska store in Healy the ravens are everywhere! The store is a real "game changer" in this area because residents no longer have to drive 2 hours to Fairbanks for groceries and supplies. It even has an Ace Hardware, too. Of course, ravens and all their cousins are y favorites, so this is always a favorite stop of mine.
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| Drop off your cart and leave a treat, too, please. |
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| Isn't he beautiful! |
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Savage River Loop
trail today. Rain, then a beautiful hour or so of warm sunshine, then another torrential downpour. That's life in Denali!
Wednesday, June 19 , 2019
Discovery hike up Cathedral Mountain area with Ranger Jamie Milliken & 10 other explorers. Then I caught another green bus up to the Eielson visitor center just because I couldn't get enough of the park's beauty.
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| Started the day with moose & calf. Ended with 2 moose, one with 1 calf, the other was a mother of twins. In between we saw several moose along the park road, too. |
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| Ranger Jamie discussing safety and important people in park history. Jamie and his wife raise and run dog sled teams during the winter months. |
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| Start of the hike. The white dots in the background are the Dahl sheep ewes who aoet if "accompanied" us. Once they figured out that we were not a threat they allowed their lambs to join us. What a hoot! One of the lambs was rolling around a clump of turf just like a soccer ball. |
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| A bit of sheep fur. |
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| Shooting Star |
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| The soft tundra where we ate lunch, lounged and listened to great tales of the park by Jamie. |
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| View from the top, breath taking! |
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| Moose antlers locked forever. Two bull moose fighting for the right to mate accidentally locked antlers and could not disentangle. Both died. |
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| Ground squirrels abound at Eielson! |
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| I had a crummy seat on the bus coming back last night, but this sow and her yearling cub came to within about 15 feet of our bus. |
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| Close to the end of the day. Sigh. |
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| Iconic state flower, Forget-Me-Not |
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Sunday hike: my friend, Nancy, and I took a shuttle bus to Eielson Visitor Center and did a strenuous ranger hike up 1,300 feet elevation gain. LOL - I might have to quit this strenuous stuff followed by 8 hour days standing on my feet cashiering! I guess I shouldn't feel too bad because even my young coworkers complain about their aching legs.😂
The wildlife was great! We saw 12 grizzly bears, many caribou, Dahl sheep, moose, fox kits, a golden eagle, & young ravens - the only one of the "big 5" that I haven't seen is wolf. Dang! One day perhaps. . . By the way, we got drenched by the clouds which enshrouded us during much of the hike.
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| My friend Nancy. She and her husband are Alaskans and have worked in this area for many years. They are working here at my RV camp this year and are the BEST! |
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| Ranger Mariah, originally from Maine and one of the park's artist-in-residence last year, now an NPS ranger. The theme of this hike (her very first!) was interpreting Denali through art. She did great - thought provoking! |
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| Close up of one of the newer flowers that I hadn't seen yet. |
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| A bull moose! It was a thrill to see him since cows and calves abound and it was a surprise to see him. |
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| One of the young ravens who was hatched in a nest on the rocks directly under this bridge.😊 |
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| One of the better bear pictures when this sow looked directly at the bus. We were about a hundred yards away and she might have heard the bus when the driver started the engine. |
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The bus startled this golden eagle from what we thought might be his roadside meal. He flew not too far away into the brush.We watched him for quite a while thinking that he might have carried off his roadside meal, but it doesn't look like it. He may have been waiting us out so he could return to the road.
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This caribou looked so magnificent when we first saw him surveying us from the top of this hill. It was unusual to see one at this elevation. In the cool and cloudy weather it was nice that the mosquitoes and bot flies were not tormenting this one or any of the others we observed.
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| Three caribou lounging on the rock bar of the Toklat River. |
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| A lone yellow violet, the only one I found. |
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Foreground: fresh adult grizzly scat.
Background: fresh cub scat.
A clue to beware, of course! |
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| Finished our lunch while lounging on the tundra. We always choose a high area with good visibility and we make sure group members keep an eye out in every direction for bear or wolf. Moose are not a threat in this environment. |
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| Just a picture I like. |
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| Okay, so I dared to turn around to take a photo of the sow as she ambled away. There were all kinds of other sightings on the way home including a moose and her twins.💕. |
"Sunset" tonight red from fires in the state, but not threatening Denali area now. Many tourists leaving Fairbanks and Anchorage for smoke-free environments elsewhere.😥
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