Skip to main content

Visiting Alaska, Part 2


On Sunday, we attended church at the building right next to the temple and then we drove up to Denali National Park, about a 4-hour drive.  We stopped along the way at a viewpoint to possibly see the big mountain but there was a fair amount of smoke in the air thanks to a lot of fires.  Forest fire season in Alaska is apparently most of the summer.  There were a lot of dead pine trees in the forests we saw that were probably dead due to a huge beetle infestation.  Alaska has a LOT of pine trees and it was sad to see all those dead trees.



For Sunday and Monday nights, we rented a dry cabin to stay in.  Staying near Denali is quite expensive so we decided to stay in a dry cabin with a kitchen to save money.  A dry cabin means using an outhouse and not having a shower.  The cabin was very clean and quiet but I have to admit I would have enjoyed running water and a flush toilet.  One thing about Alaska in the summer is that sky doesn't ever get completely dark, so I could go out to the outhouse at 3am and not need a flashlight because it was still light outside.


Denali National Park is a huge park but unfortunately not very accessible--they've done a great job protecting the land with the result of making it hard to see.  The first 15 miles have a free shuttle bus that comes with your admission (or you can drive your own car) but then after that, you have to buy additional tickets to take the bus farther into the park.  The problem with the transit buses is that they are very slow.  To go 60 miles into the park takes about 4 hours with an additional 4 hours needed to come back.  During these 60 miles you are likely to see a lot of wildlife but you also have to sit on a bus for 8 hours.  After driving more than 4 hours on Sunday in a not-very-comfortable car, we were not that interested in riding a bus for 8 hours.  So we rode the free bus in and got out to hike.  The day was somewhat overcast and foggy and we enjoyed the hike which was somewhat chilly at times.  I never regretted bringing my winter coat and wearing pants.




The hike was great with lots of wildflowers but unfortunately we didn't see much wildlife.  Around 6pm on Monday we decided to try the transit bus and tried to buy tickets.  Unfortunately, with it being close to the 4th of July, the tickets were almost completely sold out and there was no way we could take a bus into the park which would leave us with enough time to get back to Anchorage to fly home on Wednesday morning.






On Tuesday, we opted instead to go to a touristy town called Talkeetna and possibly go on a boat ride to see more wildlife.  Unfortunately Alaska was in the middle of a rare heat wave and the boat operators thought it was unlikely we would see any wildlife due to the high temperatures.  So we drove back to Anchorage and had dinner at the Moose's Tooth Pizzeria which is a very popular place to eat and, after eating there, we can see why.  It was really good.

We watched a sled dog exhibition which was interesting.  Parts of the park are protected wilderness which means nothing motorized is allowed there so they use sled dogs to carry supplies and do other work they need done in the wilderness.


There is a spot where two rivers meet where you can see the different water coming in from each.

We did see a few moose by the side of the road.


In summary:
The Airbnb's worked out well for the most part and were much cheaper than hotels.  We didn't love the last place we stayed but it was fortunately short.  Turo is a reasonable way to rent a car.  We probably should have gotten a nicer car to make driving more comfortable.  We were trying to save money on gas but it turns out that gas is one of the few things in Alaska that is cheaper--food is quite expensive.  We enjoyed our boat ride where we got to see lots of cool sights.  We wished we had a little more time in Denali and taken a bus farther into the park so we could see more wildlife.  We also didn't really see the mountain because of the weather but this is not surprising--only 1 in 3 visitors gets to see the mountain.  We enjoyed the bike ride in Anchorage as well as the Moose's Tooth.  We may never get back to Alaska but we accomplished our goal of getting there!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Cousin Drew

 This last week, my brother and his wife lost a very precious son, just 13 years old. He collapsed while running with a cross-country team and passed away before he could be revived. Everyone that knew Drew is broken-hearted at this loss. He was the happiest, most agreeable kid we knew. I remember him being at my house without anyone close to his age to hang out with, so he found our Duplo blocks and started building even though it is a toy that boys his age don't usually enjoy. He was so content. He didn't complain that I ever remember. His mother always called him the perfect child. He will leave a big hole in not only his immediate family but our extended family as well.  Here is a poem my aunt shared that seems fitting: Leave Taking How I would have liked to wave goodbye  and watch until you turned and smiled and disappeared on the horizon. You who taught me to dance  and let me teach you,  who laughed at my stories  and winked at me when I was sad. I can  just see you trav
Post a Comment
Read more

Remembering Drew

 This weekend we celebrated Drew's life. On Thursday night, we gathered as an extended family and had a dinner then sat in a big circle and talked about our memories of him. I took some notes and here is what people said. Grandpa (Gary Hansen):  The last time we saw Drew was last week on the 4th. I remember all the cousins on the trampoline, bouncing up and down and playing basketball. Grandma (Susan Hansen):  I asked Drew to come over last winter to teach my Activity Day boys how to make origami stars. He was very patient in working with them even though they were pretty clueless. Eventually they all went home happily with their stars. Paula: This last winter we invited Bruce and Michelle over for dinner and we didn't have anyone his age for him to hang out with. I remember that Drew found the Duplo blocks on his own and played with them all by himself, quite cheerfully entertaining himself. I asked him if he wanted to play with a different toy--maybe something more sophistica
Post a Comment
Read more

Drew's Funeral

Yesterday was the viewing for Drew and then today was the funeral. There were a LOT of people at the viewing. Bruce and Michelle greeted people for almost four hours yesterday and then again this morning before the funeral. Bruce said that if weren't for Drew's death, it would be the best week of his life with so much love being shown to them. Friday actually began with a family run in Drew's honor. We started at a church by the new Lindon temple and ran to Bruce and Michelle's house with breakfast following. Friday night was the viewing. There was a very nice display of all things Drew. This was one of the pictures displayed and I recognized someone I know: We stood in line and the paramedics who worked on Drew stood in line behind us so we got to talk to them. Here's a fun fact:  They cover both Orem and Vineyard but Vineyard gets a lot more 911 calls than Orem per capita. It's a younger population and they are quicker to call. They said it's hard when the
Post a Comment
Read more