June 9, 2005

We are on the last leg of the Alaska Highway today. Took the ferry across the Yukon from Dawson City and started our ascent on the Top of the World highway. First though we took the turn off to the golf course and took some photos of the town, unfortunately the sun was not cooperating. It was right in our eyes and the camera lens. The road on the Canadian side was mostly paved with patches of gravel but drivable.

On the US border we were asked some routine questions and continued with our trek in the good ol’ US of A. Of course this side of the road was all gravel. We poor Americans cannot afford to pave this beautiful scenic road… But it was OK and not toooo dusty.

We got to Chicken, AK just in time for pie and coffee. It was quite a little place, with some history. The rest of the road was mostly gravel but good. On our left we saw mountains with snow on the top. Most of the scenery around us was devastated by the big fire of 2004. It was sad to see all those charred tree trunks and blackened landscape. We got back to the Alaska Highway at Tok, where we had lunch at the tourist center.

Stopped at Delta Junction where we saw a huge moose munching on a nearby tree in the parking lot. Visited Rika’s Road House and the Alaska Pipe Line crossing the Tanana River.

Trudy made some purchases at the North Pole Santa Claus shop and I entertained the reindeer nearby.

Drove into Fairbanks around 7pm and could not get a room at the Westmark hotel but got one nearby at the Regency Fairbanks. Not as nice but definitely adequate.

After a nice diner of KFC chicken for me and BBQ ribs for the Trude we took a walk to the “Town” and checked out the statues and fountain by the River Chena and ???? Street

The hotel we are staying at has free internet access and I took a quick look at my email. Got lots of good wishes and happy thoughts from friends and family.

June 10, 2005

We drove back to the Denali park main entrance and boarded our tour buss just in time at the chalet. Our guide was very witty and knowledgeable. We enjoyed his commentary and humor. Unfortunately Denali once again played the shy one and hid behind the clouds. Just my luck! Still the scenery was superb and we spotted abt three moose, bunch of dhal sheep, and a caribou. After the tour we had diner at the cabin and off to bed.

June 11, 2005

Once again we will try to see Denali. We are off on a hike, pretty much the same route we took with the buss. All in all, only 4 miles. Today we did not spot much. A little snow hare, one moose (maybe) and that’s it. But we had a great hike with splendid vistas and lots of photo opportunities.

We also had an added bonus on top of our hike, we got serenaded.An Athabascan native played his fiddle for us and we even sprang into a dance. His name is Bill Watkins and he lives in Santa Cruz when he is not in Alaska.

After the hike I went to the chalet to write my post cards and Trude went shopping. We still had one more item on our agenda at Denali that we did not want to miss. But we almost did. Wanted to see the Sled Dog cannels and their demo at the Park head quarters. It was nothing new but still interesting, and of course the dogs were full of spirit and spank. Ready to run to pull the sled and then get their treats. .

I managed to mess up the settings on my camera and just when they were pulling the sleds, the pictures were too dark. Well live and learn

We had pizza next door to our cabins. Not the best but it was Ok, and we were hungry. Turned real cold at night again so keeping warm was a priority...

June 12, 2005

Today we are leaving our cabins by the Carlo Creek, and Denali. On the way out we had several opportunities to take photos of the mountain as it has finally revealed it self even if just for a few minutes at a time. We stopped at Talketna where we had lunch and I actually toyed with the idea of taking a plane ride to the mountain. It was a beautiful clear day and I was really tempted.

But somehow I felt the timing was not right. Trude was thinking of the grandkids and I saw that she would have just love to have get on the road the sooner the better. Besides she had no desire to fly around no mountain in a small rickety plane.  But I'll be back. It realy got me interested...

We took a little side trip to Palmer where I clicked away at the local Russian orthodox / native cemetery. It reminded me of some of the doghouses in Hungary with some crosses on them. Well, little did I know…

After the photo shoot, on to Anchorage. We arrived there around 4:35pm with daughter Diana taking a video record of the historical event.