Monthly Archives: March 2010

Relaxing in Talkeetna

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I desperately needed a vacation, my husband agreed.  We both grew up in the Anchorage area, and knew every little bit of the town.  We decided that we would take a few days off and get out of the city.  We made reservations at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, a mellow drive past Houston on the Parks Highway.

Seeing as how we both knew Alaska pretty well, we figured Talkeetna would be just another small town out in the woods.  How wrong we were.  When we pulled into the town to get our bearings before trying to find the lodge, we were hit immediately with the sheer life of the town.  Cottages littered the roadside, and the smell of cooking food wafted through the trucks open windows.  I told Garth we just had to stop.  He groaned knowing I was going to spend money at the abundant shops, but he soon succumbed to the town’s charm.  Stained glass wind chimes, carved ivory, chocolate, and lots of handmade products were of abundance.  Most, if not all as far as I could tell, was locally made and you could see the pride in the craftsman’s faces.  I had only gotten as far as the woodcarvings before my husband reminded me that we had to check in before midnight. (In my defense, no matter how long you live here, the long summer days never escape you.)

As we took the road into the lodge I was caught by the sent of that true Alaskan wilderness.  The sky was still blue, and Denali would have been visible if not for the curtain of trees that surrounded our little vehicle.  We checked into our room, opting for the Mountain View room so we could admire Denali in all her wonder. (We rarely see her from Anchorage, but it’s not unheard of.)  While we settled into the room it occurred to me that we were only two hours from home.  That’s it, just two hours.    It was easily the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever had.  We did a little light fishing in the area, and we let the long days melt away all our tension from the bustling city just across the inlet.

-Marcy & Garth Medaughs

Lodging at Denali National Park

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We stayed at the Denali Backcountry Lodges last summer.  It was breathtakingly beautiful, and had all the amenities of home, minus the noisy neighbors.  We were just 95 miles into the park but if felt like we were in another country.  The sheer wildness of Denali National Park was wonderful.  We had moose come within feet of our cabin, they’re HUGE! I thought they would be the size of a deer, but they’re more like the size of a Suburban!  After the moose left the area and we could leave our cabin, we went on a hike around Kantishna.  It takes a little while to focus on the small things in such a vast landscape.  Slowly we saw the tiny flowers, the subtle colors of all the different trees, and the shimmer of lycan and caribou moss.  The week before we can saw some rain so all the flora was extra lush, it was really beautiful.

We saw a few other animals while on our adventure.  Caribou wandered around, and we saw two bears. A few bird nests littered the trees, and we got so see a few ground nests. The coolest thing we saw was still the moose at our front door.  The rustic feel of the lodge was wonderful, and the staff was very helpful.  A great trip all in all!

Fresh morning air

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Fresh morning airI am a city boy. I was born and raised around the Boston area and have never experienced real nature outside of the trees and hills of New Hampshire. Last August, I departed my comfortable home of Dunkin’ Donuts and subways for the wild lands of Alaska knowing nothing about the state aside from Discovery specials. The staff at Alaska Denali Tours put together a great package for me that prized my individuality and let me embrace the real Alaska wild, as was my wish.

The most memorable part of the trip to me was at the Denali entrance. I stayed at the Denali Cabins there and used their shuttle service to get to the Visitor Center of the park where great hiking trails could be found. I chose one called the Taiga Trail. I remember the soft dew that clung to the leaves and the winding trail that cut through the dense woods. It was like a great pressure was building up in me; the culmination of such a perfect day apart from the comfort of civilization. As the sun shone through that dew and left a prism upon my face, I felt that pressure slowly escape. Below me, a stream cut through a narrow valley, tumbling and rolling over the tundra. A red squirrel chattered in the distance. At last I had found my Alaska, away from the city.

Alaskan Seasons

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Hoarfrosted branches

Hoarfrost on tree branch

As the winter wanes and the days get longer, Alaska undergoes a transformation.  Moose appear in abundance just before the snows disappear, to raise their young. Willows begin to bud, their downy blooms shimmering with new growth. Bears emerge, ready for the salmon

runs.  Parts of the state burst into life at different times, turning to green over the course of just a week.  Aspen clap their silvery leaves in joy of the children of spring.  Rivers, lakes, and the abundant streams return to life, trickling through the mountains, bringing new growth.  The seeds that lay dormant all winter begin to take root, and wild flowers poke their fresh heads from the soft soil.

While all this is taking place the people of The Last Frontier begin to exchange snow blowers and snow machines for lawn mowers and four-wheelers. Summer rages on, the sun stays ever longer, lingering on the horizon late into the night.  Boats come out of hibernation and poles expand for the fishing season.  Hundreds of RV’s and campers bustle their way down the highways to new and refreshing destinations, taking their drivers to new experiences and adventures. Salmon of all types come in from the ocean to make their way back to their home streams.  The bears get fat on the fish thick enough to walk across their ruby and emerald backs.  Eagles soar overhead, heading back north to nest and feed on the abundant salmon.
The foliage of birch and willow begin to loose their lush greens and succumb to the light frosts that signal the beginning of autumn.  Vibrant yellows and oranges overcome the landscape, brightening the hills.  The fiery colors fade slowly to rich browns until one day the wind picks up just enough to wipe the trees clean.  Shortly after the moose return back to their hills with their young, who now stand as taller than a man.  The summer birds return south, geese in the thousands ‘v’ across the sky headed for warmer weather.  Magpies take their place, as well as ravens returning south from the fish runs. Soon the first snows fall and the bears return to their dens, fat from a rich summer feast.

Winter descends, and the land suddenly softens.  Millions of sparkling facets litter the hills.  A slow, creeping fog lays over the land near the waters that are beginning to slow to a trickle.  When the fog rises a new beauty burdens the forest.  Hoarfrost has settled, encasing the branches in a glittering wrap.  The woods bend with new weight, arching over roads and trails.  Ever so slowly the weight lifts, and spring is upon us once again.

Picture courtesy of:  Kansas State University

My Alyeska Pipeline Experience

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Last summer I touched the Alyeska Pipeline. I didn’t even know it was possible. Alaska Denali Tours made it happen though. My kids and I started in Anchorage, took in the sites and went to the Saturday Market down town. After Anchorage we boarded the Motorcoach and headed to Denali. After a night there, enjoying the sheer vastness of the country, we made it north to Fairbanks, a small town with a large attitude. The Fairbanks North Star Borough, which Fairbanks and Denali both reside in, is roughly the size of New Jersey, but the total population is less than 100,000. That means if you stretched every person in the area out evenly there would only be 11 every square mile. The town was founded around the gold boom, which started in 1902 and still continues today.
The first thing I did while I was in Fairbanks was the Riverboat Discovery tour on the Chena River. I was able to really soak in the heritage of the land. We saw a traditional fish camp and left the boat to learn about the way Native People live in the villages of interior Alaska. After a lunch near the river we headed north to the El Dorado Gold Mine, which has been mining for gold for decades. We took a train, complete with the operator singing us some Johnny Cash, into the mine to learn about the history of the industry. The guides were wonderful and really immersed you into the setting. After the train ride we panned for our own ‘flash’, and even made jewelry out of the flakes. The family who operates the mine was there and we got to touch enormous gold nuggets.
After the gold fever we departed on the train once more and made our way back to the busses. The bus took us up the Dalton Highway to a spot where the pipeline was near the road. My family and I headed right to the exposed pipeline raised five feet off the ground. There was no experience quite like knowing millions of dollars of crude oil was pumping through that enormous structure. We were even given the opportunity to take home parts of retired pipeline. What an adventure!

-Kira Elegy