North Pole and Fairbanks, AK 7/8-7/9 2008

Me at the Ice Museum in Fairbanks

Renae and Aunt Ethel Faye at the Ice Museum

A cow moose outside Aunt Ethel Faye's house

All three of us at the Santa Claus's house.

I slept in this morning until 7am maybe 730am, Renae slept in to 0630 so that was really nice. It was a rainy overcast day. Aunt Ethel Faye went into town to go see about her car and a rental. Renae and I stayed at the house and relaxed a little bit more. AEF came back and we headed into North Pole for lunch. After lunch we headed out to the Knotty Shop so Renae could get some ice cream, which AEF said was really good. The Knotty Shop had some pretty cool things and we bought a few gifts and then headed to the Santa Claus shop. What an overwhelming Christmas store. But we found a few things that we got for the Christmas tree that is most definitely going up this year.

AEF said that she wouldn't let us leave without going to the ICE Museum so we headed into Fairbanks and watched the movie about the ICE festival and watched a demonstration. They also had some ice sculptures in 20 degree freezers that we could look at. It was pretty cool to see the different sculptures. We then went to one of the stores that we saw the first day in Fairbanks and bought some gifts.

Later the night of the 8th Frank and his wife Carol came over as well as Lou and Adeline for supper. They cooked some of the fish that we caught. I really liked the Halibut which was surprising and Renae liked both the Halibut and Cod. Frank ate some shrimp that had eggs, never seen the likes, they laughed at me some more, but it was fun times.

Wednesday Renae and AEF went into town (not sure which one) but they got the fish taken care off as far as mailing it back to Junction and then went to see the hospital on Fort Wainwright. Me I laid around like I was on vacation and read my book and played with AEF's cat Tom. Which by the way we were really happy that Aunt Ethel Faye had a cat because we were missing ours. Tom really liked lots of attention and we were happy to provide that to him. When Renae got back we were sitting in the front room and a cow moose was walking right near the house in the Slough (creek like body of water only not moving but not stagnant). Renae I took lots of pictures because this was the only moose that we saw close up. We finished up our laundry, packed suitcases and backpacks, then went over to see Frank and Carol before going to the airport. We said our goodbyes or see ya again and then headed to Fairbanks. Of course we stopped at Hot Licks at 9:58pm 2 min before they closed and got some ice cream. AEF then showed us the Fairbanks hospital and we headed to the airport. Renae and I checked in and did some more shopping, lol, and played some cards before we got on our plane at 0105 in the morning. They had a couple of message chairs by our terminal so we bought a couple of minutes and had a back message. Sweet. Off to Salt Lake City and back to 100 degree weather in Junction. Thanks for the great trip.

Valdez, AK 7/3-7/7 2008

Aunt Ethel Faye's car being loaded onto a tow truck after breaking down climbing Thompson Pass (which is slightly over 2600 feet).

Sea lice, which I never knew existed until Frank (Ethel's son) pulled the shrimp basket onto his boat and asked me to dunk it to rid it of the lice. Most definitely one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. Thanks Frank.

Aunt Ethel Faye, Renae, and myself getting ready to leave Valdez, AK.

Renae holding one of her smaller Halibut fishes that she caught while in Valdez. (notice the expression, she said it was breathing on her fingers)

Renae with her 38.7 lb Ling Cod that has a face only a mother could love, the fish not Renae.

Horseshoe Tail waterfall on the highway coming into Valdez.

After getting connected with Aunt Ethel Faye (AEF, for short), Renae and I wanted to change clothes as we had been wearing the same clothes for two days. We then headed to Valdez taking the Denali Highway (about 100 miles of dirt road where Renae and I were guaranteed to see big wildlife, didn't even see a hare). Prior to hitting Denali Highway we decided to stop for lunch, now ordinarily this wouldn't be an interesting conversation point, however not with Renae and I. We stopped at the gas station and got gas and went inside to get some lunch from their little cafe' well, they didn't start serving until 12 noon and it was about 20 til. So we got back in the car and headed a couple miles up the road to another service station, well they were closed, so we got back into the car and headed to a Trading Post that had a roach coach (sorta) outside it didn't look to good and they had a Bushrat special and I was afraid to ask what that was, well back to the car to the first gas station because it was now noon and went in but the cashier said her cook called in sick, so back to the car and back to the trading post which ended up being really good food.

After all that was said and done we hit the Denali Highway which had very beautiful scenery with mountains, glaciers, wildflowers, but no wildlife. Renae was driving so I took a little nap in the back seat and AEF faded off every once in a while for a nap too. Once we reached the end of the Denali Highway we stopped at another little gas station in Paxton (i think) and had an ice cream break. Then off to Valdez on a real (kinda) highway, after buying a bumper sticker saying we survived the Denali Highway. I was driving now and I think I scared AEF a couple of times.

Our next stop would be GlenAllen, AK for supper. We tried to get a hold of Frank by cell phone to see if he left Fairbanks yet and we were finally able to and he said he was just getting ready to leave (it was about 5pm and it is about a 7 hr drive to Valdez). We ate and filled up with gas in GlenAllen (which was our most expensive gas at $5.6?, yes almost 6 dollars a gallon.

Renae drove from this point til we got to Valdez. Along the way the wildflowers along the highway were vibrant with colors, purple, light purple, yellow, pink, and white everywhere. I got a couple of pictures from the car. I kept saying how amazing the flowers were and Renae really enjoyed them, AEF said that the amazing views where yet to come. So from then on I kept asking if I was amazed yet. AEF kept saying no not yet, then she told Renae to slow down and there was Bridal Veil Water fall it was breathtaking with green grass, shrubs, and the like surrounding this surreal waterfall. AEF said that wasn't the best and we rounded the corner and there was Horseshoe Tail Waterfall (I think that is the right name, something to do with horses). It was the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen. I took lots of photos because I was really impressed.

Now I don't remember if Thompson Pass was before or after the waterfalls but Renae and I kept laughing because it was only 2600 feet in elevation and tree line was 2300 feet and there was a ton of snow still on the pass. Into Valdez we came and parked in the Harbor Parking area to unload our stuff onto the boats. Renae and I had never slept on a boat before and that was to be our night accommodations for the next several nights. Now Frank owns two boats and we stayed on Mad Dog or Bad Dog the first night. It was a 32 foot bayliner that was broken which was why Frank didn't get started from Fairbanks until 5pm because they were putting together the transmission or something and the garage didn't order one small ring but that didn't get figured out until 5pm, anywho, it was all quite dramatic. So Renae and I settled in and decided we really stunk and needed a shower, however the showers only took tokens which had to be obtained from the quartermaster or harbormaster or someone who had the tokens, and they had gone home. So stinky as we were we hit the sack in the forward session of the boat. Now I don't know how many people experience sleeping in these forward sections other than the Navy and Coast Guard but they are quite tiny. Luckily I didn't seem to claustrophobic but had to have one leg outside my sleeping bag so I didn't feel closed in.

The next morning was the 4th of July and we were excited to go catch fish. Well AEF wasn't up yet and so we headed over to a little cafe coffee shop in the Harbor Parking lot. When we got there the person there said she was just told that she wasn't supposed to work today and so Renae got a free cup of coffee because she had no money in the register. By the time we walked back AEF was getting up and we decided to go check out the town and SHOWER cuz we stunk. But first I needed to eat breakfast, so we headed off to the Totem Inn. Breakfast was very good or I was very hungry. After eating we headed over to the laundry mat which happened to have showers. It was 4 dollars for 10 min in the shower and it was the best 4 dollars ever spent. We did laundry while we were there. Next we called to find out where Frank and his friends, Ron, Lou, and Adeline where. Frank said he thought he would be there at 10am so we decided to check out when the parade was to be and then met the bunch over at the RV park. Renae and I didn't get to talk with Ron much but Frank, Lou and Adeline are good people. Frank came up and hugged me and made me feel like family, it was great. Renae and I were overly excited to go catch fish but soon learned there is a process to be followed so we had to settle down. We went and watched the parade and visited several shops, saw the video of the earthquake and eventual destruction of old Valdez which happened in 1964 I believe (it was pretty interesting) and then hit the fishing store to get our fishing licenses. We headed back to the RV park and ate sandwiches. Frank then said it was time to go put out the shrimp baskets and we could do a little bit of fishing, yeah, Renae and I were back excited again.

We went out on the little boat (29 foot) called the Pacific Eagle. But we had to fill up with gas first, which was an experience in of itself. Then off we went into Prince William sound which is the sea I guess because it had sea lice, not ocean lice (Frank correct me if I'm wrong). All the big fishing boats were out and we had to maneuver around their fishing nets. Then we hunted for the perfect place to put the shrimp pots down. Frank and Lou put down the pots which is an interesting process and then marked the waypoint (75) so we could find them the next day. We then stopped so Renae, AEF, and I could fish. I was the first one to catch a fish, but Frank told me we had to through it back because it was an icky tasting fish, I was disappointed but got my picture taken with the fish. AEF was the next one to catch something only it was a pretty pink and purple starfish which Frank threw back. I then caught another nonkeeper, then it was time to head back in. We got back in around 7pm and had hamburgers for supper. Renae and I were exhausted and walked over to the boat around 9pm to go to bed. The next several nights we would be sleeping on the smaller boat.

The next morning we were headed out into the sound by 0830 with a boat full of at least two excited people. It took us 2 hours or so to get to where we would be fishing for the day. What a awesome day. The weather was great and Renae and I thought the fishing was great too. Of course that could be the fact that she caught 5 fish the biggest one being nearly 40 lbs and of prehistoric nature. I only caught a small halibut that we ended up putting back in the water. We spent about 9 hours out on the water it was great. We saw jelly fish (looked like peach jelly), some dolphins, sea puppies (that was what Frank called them, sea otters I think), and a seal. Of course lots of fish. I think in total all of us caught maybe 10 or 12 fish. We headed back in to bring up the shrimp pots which is where I learned about the most disgusting thing, sea lice. I had bad dreams after that and kept scratching my head just at the mention of sea lice. We only pulled in maybe 15 shrimp and some of them made back into the water after AEF got caught between the boat and the dock. That night we skinned and bagged the fish and Lou (who looks like santa claus) started the brine water to smoke some of the salmon. Renae and I didn't get to bed until about 11pm this night and were totally exhausted that we didn't even hear the rain.

The next day Adeline didn't go out with us. The day started really foggy, rainy, and windy. We had to use the radar to get through the narrows to see the other ships and the coast line. It was kinda freaky but Renae and I trusted Frank. We put down more shrimp pots and stopped a couple of times to drop a line in. Frank and Lou decided we should go further out. At this point I got what I would consider sea sick, not sure if it was from the bologna sandwich or the choppy seas but nonetheless my stomach was churning, but I didn't hurl. It took us about an hour to get where we ended up fishing. And it was a raining off and on let me tell you. We all got wet. I sat out the back of the boat with my feet up on the railing and my pole in the water until I got my first bite. I was a bit anxious or sick and reeled it in to quickly and lost the salmon. Shortly after that I got another one and lost it too, but don't fear I got the next three actually 4 but one escaped after being almost netted. Renae caught one or two of something, but overall we only caught I think maybe 5 fish that day. Lou cut his hand while cleaning a halibut and we all made a big deal of it except him. Frank kept saying Lou was bleeding on his boat, it was funny.

When we got back we ate dinner in Lou and Adeline's RV, it was a great meal. Renae and I then walked back to the boat as it was nearly 1130pm and went to bed. The next day we were up and cleaning the boat so we could all leave back to Fairbanks. AEF, Renae and I left first so we could stop and climb on Worthington Glacier. As we were headed up Thompson Pass I smelt something burning but thought it was the truck and RV in front of us. Worthington Glacier is halfway down Thompson pass and as we pulled in the car started knocking, smoking and the oil light was flashing. When we got pulled into a parking space a large billow of smoke came out from under neath the car. Well I suggested that we should call Frank because we thought they were still behind us, however, there was no cell service. AEF walked down to the road to see if she could catch them and told Renae and I to go check out the glacier. Renae and I took a few photos and then tried to figure out how to call Frank. There was a touristy shop at the glacier and so we went into ask about a phone they had one but we couldn't call long distance on it. I thought I had a couple of calling cards so I found them and Renae went down to stand with AEF. Well apparently calling cards can expire and once they expire you can't add more minutes on them, who knew. Well I started hiking down to the road and AEF and Renae were coming up. I asked if they got ahold of Frank and the said no and asked if I did, which I said no. So I went down and stood on the road for 30 min and they went up and got ahold of Frank using the lady at the booths calling card. Some menly men tried to help and said that our thermostat was stuck and poured water into the radiator reservoir. They came and picked me up on the road. And off we headed at 40 miles an hour but not for long because the car began to overheat again. So we pulled off the side of the road and refilled the reservoir. We also found a clear mountain stream and refilled our water bottles. Off we went at 40 miles an hour this time for 4 miles. This went on one more time before we stopped at a rest stop where there happened to be a group of bicyclist stopped. One came over and took off the radiator cap after it had cooled and said there was no fluid in the radiator and filling the reservoir was no good. So we asked a couple of people that we saw to call Frank when they got into cell service which Frank said he got two phone calls. We then began filling the radiator and off we went. We made it five miles or so before we had to stop again, at this time we refilled the water bottles in another stream. The next time we stopped a truck pulled over to help and they said we had a blown head gasket which we did and had oil in the radiator fluid. They also happened to have a satellite phone and was able to get ahold of Frank, which by the way was 2 hours ahead of us. It took us about 4 hours to travel 30 miles. We finally stopped for the last time and waited for Frank and a tow truck. We happened to stop at some lodge that was open and lucky for us because they served the best food. Shortly after we finished eating Frank and a tow truck showed up. Yeah Frank. We road back to Fairbanks in Franks RV. We didn't get home until 1230am. How crazy.

Last note we didn't notice many mosquito's in Valdez, but instead there were nats. Now normally nats are just a pain at times, however, these nats had canine teeth that sunk into you and left a mark bigger than any mosquito ever did. Having been back in Colorado a day now those nat bites itch more than any mosquito bite did.

Denali National Park 7/1-7/3 2008

This was a view from our camp site on the second day in Denali.

Renae pretty much saying you want me to hike up to those rocks?

Pretty alpine tundra flowers.

Grizzly bear we saw from the bus going to Eielson Visitor Center.

Me in front of Denali Mountain, or Mt. McKinely.

Well what an incredible train ride. The train pulled into Denali around 1230pm and Renae and I figured out what to do next as far as getting our backpacks and such. We decided after they off loaded our stuff to go grab a bite to eat. Well apparently everyone else also had this idea. There is one eating place near the the Visitors Center and the line was probably a quarter mile long. Since we had our big backpacks Renae decided she would save a table with our packs and I would stand in line. Let me tell you there was more pushing and shoving going on in that line than at a Ozzy concert (not that I've been to an Ozzy concert, but you get my drift). Anywho the line seemed to move pretty quick and I got two sandwiches, a beer, two candy bars, and a soda for me and it cost 29 dollars, I about crapped my pants but hey what can you do, it's the only eating place around. As I was paying the cashier I waved to Renae and she took that as there was a place inside to sit so she grabbed up all the packs and headed inside (all this was going on unbeknowst to me) and when she got to me I asked what she was doing and she told me all of the above, I said no, so we headed back to the table she was sitting at and well some nasty tourist saw her get up and began heading for the table. At this point a verbal altercation ensued and Renae won the table back, Yeah.

So after that excitement we wanted to be as far away from tourist as possible so we decided to go into the backcountry on 7/1 if it was possible. We found out were we needed to go to get our backcountry passes and the bus passes into Denali. We got our bear canister and watched the safety video (which indicated that if we were overdue or lost they wouldn't come look for us unless someone reported us missing, great). We picked unit 30 for the first night and unit 26 for the second night. We waited along with all the other backpackers for the camper bus to take us into the park. While waiting we stored some of our belongings in lockers so we didn't have to carry as much into the backcountry. Also while waiting the weather cleared and the sun was shining, what a beautiful day.

The camper bus came and picked us all up. We were riding with a couple from LA, a guy from San Diego, and another guy from California. We talked about all sorts of back country experience. Along the way into the park we saw some Caribou and Dall sheep from a long distance. The camper bus dropped us off at mile marker 43 just past a wildlife closure area (wolves). The park ranger said in this area we would have to bush whack, well having never bushwhacked, Renae and I quickly understood what this meant. We were walking through hip high dwarf birch bushes that liked to grab at everything moving past them. The ranger also said to make lots of noise so not to scare a bear, so I talked at twice my normal loudness and called hey bear like I was calling a pig. I'm sure to Alaskan's this probably looked and sounded quite funny and amusing but I took it very seriously. Anywho Renae and I had ambitions to hike several miles. Well after 1 1/2 hours and only going 3/4 of a mile we decided we couldn't bushwhack anymore so we found a place that was clear of dwarf birch (very difficult to do) and set up camp. Well let me tell you this "tundra" we were walking on was like walking on a wet sponge. For each step we took we didn't know if we would sink 3 inches or not sink but we had fun. Everyone warned about the mosquito's here, well there weren't much larger than the one's back home but they are quite aggressive, mosquito's on roids. After eating we watched the sun set (so to speak) and headed off to bed. We woke up the next morning and packed up after eating and headed back to the road. Going back to the road was far easier than heading out because instead of bushwhacking back we went down to the river bed and followed it back to the road. Once up to the road we waited for the next green/white bus to come pick us up so we could head up to the Eielson visitor center at around mile marker 75. This bus driver was quite the talker and quite annoying. She had a high pitched nasally voice and stopped for every freaking wildlife spotting along the way. People wanted to stop and take pictures of Magpie's, how crazy is that, or for wildlife that even with binoculars looked like a spot. Anyway as we got closer to Denali mountain there was a Grizzly Bear near the road (actually two in separate areas) so I got pictures of a grizzly (way cool and I don't want to get any closer to the bear). When we got to Eielson we set up our cook stove and ate lunch. Took lots of pictures of the mountain for Tarra and hoped back on a West Bound bus to hike into our next unit.

The bus dropped us off at mile marker 17 and we cooked super because it took us 3.5 hours to get back down. Now in Denali the road is paved til marker 15 and then you go through the park entrance and the road begins in gravel/dirt (this is important for the next day). After eating we found the trail (by the way there are no trails in Denali you just head off) made by social hikers (tourists) and headed up to Primrose Ridge. This was also a daunting task because instead of bushwhacking we were attacked by skinny Quaker trees that liked to attach the packs and knock us backwards. Not to mention there was water and mud standing in the trail. It was fun though hiking up. The rule in the backcountry is 1/2 mile from the road and not in sight of the road. We this was pretty difficult considering there was no trees anything after 1/2 mile from the road so we kept climbing up. Now the park ranger told us that in order to not be seen from the road we would likely have to go up and over the ridge. Well after a full day we were a wee bit tired and we had already gone 1.75 miles and gained 1000 feet in elevation so I found these two huge rocks and we set up our tent on a rock surface and went to bed. Sometime after several hours of sleeping the wind picked up quite considerably and lifted the tent several times with us in it. I found this quite entertaining and amusing. At one point it was blowing so hard that the tent was blown into an angle that felt almost as if the tent were attacking us. This continued on into the next morning making breaking camp quite difficult, but the views were awesome. We could see Denali mountain very clearly and snapped lots of pictures. Anyway back to the tent, one person had to have there foot on the tent at all times in order for it not to blow away. We headed back down to the road because we were supposed to meet Aunt Ethel Faye at the train depot at 10am. Well we got to the road before 8am to catch a bus that we were told would be headed back to the Wilderness Access Center so we could turn in our canister and pick up the stuff out of the locker. Well after sitting on the side of the road for about 30 minutes and seeing all of the buses going up but none coming down we pulled out the bus schedule. Needless to say a bus wouldn't be coming by until 1025am and arrive at the train depot at 1125 am. After freaking for several minutes we decided to hoof it to the park entrance and hitch hike along the way, hoping that a bus would be at the park entrance to take us back. It was probably the fastest two miles I've ever hiked with a full pack and we did it in about 45 minutes (which I think is a world record for land speed). Of course none of the campers going out slowed down let alone picked us up, so we ended up eating dust most of the way to the park entrance. Once we got there we talked to two really nice female rangers who said a bus would be stopping by at 0945 but wouldn't leave until 10am. We figured this was better than nothing and since there was no cell service hoped that Aunt Ethel Faye was late. We talked with the ranger while we waited for the bus. The trip back in was pretty uneventful and we hooked up with Ethel.

Now Renae and I were a little confused in Denali because there were lots of areas that seemed above tree line yet we were pretty sure we were close to sea level. Apparently in Alaska tree line is anywhere from 2300 feet to 3000 feet, quite odd indeed. We had no problem with the 20 hours of daylight because of utter exhaustion. We had an absolutely fabulous time and would highly recommend it to anyone that makes there way to Alaska's interior.

Fairbanks to Denali 7/1/2008

We woke up early in the morning on tuesday and packed our backpacks at 530 in the morning. We had to be at the train station at 0715 in the morning so we were trying to get everything together in order to be there. Aunt Ethel Faye cooked us breakfast as we were showering. Of course Renae and I played with Ethel's cat Tom for a couple of minutes. Aunt Ethel Faye lives in a log cabin that she and her late husband Glen built in 1975. Ethel drove us into Fairbanks and dropped us off at the train station. It was a little overcast and raining off and on, but was a nice day. It has been a while since Renae and I have ridden a train so we were looking forward to the experience. We checked our backpacks and loaded the train. Some of the cars had observation decks that you could sit and observe the scenery. The train started out with hardly anyone in our car but the large white carnivores called tourist kept coming through our car and waking me up. Renae had gone up to the observation deck to watch and I was trying to sleep but ended up going up to. We saw a cow moose in our jouney on the train and we could hang out the train door to take pictures which was so way cool. We took lots of pictures of the train and mountain scenery on the way to Denali.

I am going to do a separate Denali post when we get back to Fairbanks.

Fairbanks, AK 6/30/2008

Aunt Ethel came to pick us up at the hotel at 10am so we had time to eat our breakfast at the hotel. We were told when we checked in that we would have a full breakfast in the morning, but it turned out it was a continential breakfast and the full breakfast buffet would cost 11.95 so we obviously ate the continential,lol. When Aunt Ethel picked us up she told is she would be working all day down at ICE so she would give us the car and we could go explore Fairbanks. We dropped her off and picked up a map and headed downtown which only consisted of about 7 blocks. We hit the visitor's center and picked up some information and then walked around. It was a gorgeous day with nary a cloud in the sky which was quite opposite of the days forcast. We found a sporting goods store which we bought some rain gear for the boat and backpacking food for our trip to Denali National Park which we thought we would be doing at the end of the fishing trip. Aunt Ethel called and said she would be finished by 130pm and we could pick her up and she would show us around for a couple of hours. We walked back to the car after stopping and getting maps from LAND and there was a ticket on the windshield. Renae and I were feeling horrible until I read the ticket and it said someone had ripped her year sticker off the license plate. Whew what a relief that only 2 hours with Aunt Ethel Faye's car and we had gotten a ticket. Note: the flowers in Fairbanks were different and very pretty. We picked up Ethel and went to the University of Alaska Fairbanks large animal research facility. They had musk ox and caribeau and both had young which were so cute. We ended up at Aunt Ethel's house around 10pm and fell right to sleep after Aunt Ethel said it would be better if we went to Denali before our fishing trip so while Ethel was back at ICE we bought our train ticket to Denali from Fairbanks.