The Great, Big, Broad Land; Way Up Yonder

Excerpt from "The Spell Of The Yukon"

There's Gold, and it's haunting and haunting;
   It's luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting
   So much as just finding the gold.
It's the great , big, broad land way up yonder,
   It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
   It's the stillness that fills me with peace.
                                  - Robert Service

Yes - we finally had a chance to look for Alaska Gold, and we agree, like with everything, it is the journey and not the outcome that we so loved so much. But first - an update in what we've been doing prior to our gold panning.

Anna Loved this 'Alaskan Iris'

On Saturday, we ended our time in Denali National Park and had a nice drive to Fairbanks where we opted to end the camping accomodations and stayed two nights with a very freindly & hospitable gentleman named John at the Ah, Rose Marie B&B. Besides serving up "the best breakfast in Fairbanks" John was a  fabulous host and pointed us in the right direction to see the many attractions (tourist & otherwise) in Fairbanks.

On Saturday afternoon we went to the University of Fairbanks' Museum of North where we learned about "all things Alaskan."  From there, we went to the University's Botanical Garden  for a liesurely stroll among all the flowers and vegetable gardens.  With so much sunlight, the gardens go quickly from seed to full bloom, with most plants being bigger than we would normally see in VT this time of year.

Earl singing some Johnny Cash on the gold train.

We spent Sunday morning doing the El Dorado Gold Mine Tour where we learned a lot about the gold mining history of  Alaska.  This tour included a very educational and entertaining train ride to the mines.  At the end of the train ride we got an eductaion (and entertainment) in panning for gold.   After the instruction (and entertainment), everyone was given a bag of "paydirt" and we headed to the water troughs where we got try our hands at panning.  It's not much different than what you see on TV or in the movies; basically adding watter to the pan, swirling it around to separate the gold and let it settle to the bottom, carefully dumping the water and some of the waste material, then repeating the process MANY more times until you're only left with the gold (if you're lucky!).


Getting ready for a panning lesson



If you are really lucky you find this - Are you drooling Carolyn?




Typical placer gold -about $50.00 worth

 Though not the luckiest in the crowd, we all did find some "placer gold" in our paydirt, but one person found a real "nugget" worth about $95.  The best we did was about $30 worth of placer gold out in Tim's bag. Colton got short-changed with only about $5 worth, Ethan got about $25 worth and Anna about $20.  Certainly not enough to retire on, but enough for the boys to get "gold fever" and want to try again on their own.  It's going to be hard explaning to them that they won't be getting concentrated paydirt when they go to the streams on their own.

The boys at the pipeline.

On the way back to Fairbanks from the mine we stopped at the Alaskan Pipeline to see for ourselves what it is that makes this State so prosperous.  It's quite an impressive sight, and hard to imagine that this pipe, flowing full of oil, can only supply about 10% of the oil our country uses.  Who knew that the pipeline was mostly above ground? The permafrost in the Alaskan soil makes underground piping much more expensive and difficult to construct and maintain.

Anna couldn't resist taking and posting this photo!

Our next stop was Fairbanks' Pioneer Park with it's Aviation Museum and historic 'stearn wheel' river boat.  The river boat was a great staitic display and had dioramas with description placards of many of the villages along area rivers.  It's amazing how many of the villages are still primarily surviving off a "subsistence existence," by hunting ,fishing , and harvesting berries for food and selling what little surplus they can to buy the few "luxury items" they have. 

At the Aviation Museum, the boys got a personal tour from a kind old gentleman named Carlos.  Carlos was on duty as museum volunteer and has a "hover-craft" that he built and is on display in the museum.  He took the boys all through the museum, letting them sit in the cock-pit of many of the aircraft and telling them all about the many aircraft on display, but with his strong Argentina accent - we only caught about half of what he was telling us. He treated the boys to helicopter toys which were a real hit. It was a real treat to get this personal guided tour which we all really enjoyed.



Ethan at the Ice Bar - is this a sign of things to come?



Breakdancing competition

After the Museum, we went to the Solstice Festival in down-town Fairbanks.  For all the things that the Kodiak Crabfest wasn't, the Solstice Festival was;  three stages with live music from noon until midnight, dozens of food vendors, dozens of Alaskan craft vendors, a few carnival games and many local businesses with information boothes (like the Homeshow), and even a break-dancing contest that went on for hours.  Probably the most impressive thing we saw was the Ft. Wainright Army Showband.  These guys (and gal) were a fabulous 'coverband' doing everything from old Rock & Roll, Country, Jazz and R&B music.

The boys in heaven at Eileson AFB

Monday, on our way out of Fairbanks we had a great stop at Eileson Airforce Base where we met up with Emily (Van Arman) Myers, a Norwich University graduate, who's parents (Deb and Jay) are active and loyal members of the University's Upper Valley Alumni Club which Tim is involved with.  Emily gave us a great tour of the base and her husband Maj. Ethan Myers gave Colton some pointers on what its like to be a pilot in the Air force. We were lucky enough to be on base when the F-15's were taking off and landing from exercises.

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From the airbase we headed on the next leg of our trip to the little town of Tok (rhymes with "smoke") where we stayed at the Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge.  Some interesting things about Tok-  It's a "hamlet" of about 1,500 people with an AVER AGE temperature in January is -20 degr. F.  Though it has a medical clinic, school, grocery store, post office and all of the other things you might find in any other small town in Alaska, it has NO local government, it's residents pay no local or State taxes of any kind, and there are no lawyers in the town. The only police services come from the State Troopers, the schools are funded by State petreoleum funds only (though they don't have some of the "extras" like art & music), and the fire deptartment is volunteer only.  Beyond that, folks fend for themselves and choose to "just get along." The saying goes, "Don't live in Tok if you can't take a joke."

The Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge  is really a misnomer- it should be classified as a "resort."  John and Jill are incredible hosts and provide a  "truly Alaskan experience" at the lodge.  Anyone wanting a true Alaskan experience should really stay at the lodge for at least 3 nights - check it out at http://www.logcabinwildernesslodge.com/.  The  lodge is "off the grid" but has reliable electricty from solar and back-up generators. We stayed in one of the two "modern" cabins with electricty,  full bath with hot & cold water running water,  bedroom, sitting room, loft and front porch.  There are 3 other "rustic" cabins that have no electricty or running water, but they do each have their own personal "outhouse."

John & Jill built the two modern cabins, along with their beautiful home, which serves as the main lodge.  On top of a fabulous breakfast and dinner during each of our days there, John & Jill (and their Anatolian Shepard, Denali "the tallest dog in Alaska") ensured there was plenty to do for the kids and adults.  It helped that Jill's sister Julie and her grand-daughter Juilette (10) were staying at the same time with us and everyone was up for an active few days.

We hadn't been at the lodge more than 15 minutes and both boys were pretty well soaked doing the across-the-creek "zip lines."   It wasn't enough to have this one great zip-line".  John gathered the kids up the next day and had them help him build an even longer one across the creek.  Needless to say, we had a LOT of wet clothes and shoes these few days.

Denali with his fresh squirrel

Probably the highlight of the boys stay here was the guided hike & squirrel hunt that John & Jill took us on our first evening there.  Denali likes to "eat" (just to chew on, really) red squirrels, so before our hike, John asked if we would mind if Denali came along on the hike and he got one for him.  Though killing of rodents for sport goes against the grain for us (NOT) , we we're good sports and said  "sure." The boys (and Denali) we're thrilled when the squirrel tumbled out of the tree.



After breakfast the next morning John & Jill led us on a 3 mile , 1,000 ft. elevation gain hike to the top of a nearby mountain ridge that overlooked the lodge and the Little Tok River.


Colton looking over the edge of the cliff - freaking out his mother



Ethan also freaking out his mother, standing way to close to the edge.



A birds eye view of the Lodge from the cliff hike



Flowers growing out of the rocks on the cliffs

 The next day was a "less active" day with Tim taking the three kids fishing for grayling and panning for gold down at the Little Tok River.  The fishing was by far more the more productive of the two activities, with the kids catching a half-a-dozen or so grayling, and no "Eurekas" being heard.

Ethan and Juliet panning on the Little Tok

Colton hoping for a arctic grayling

Despite the rain, after another fabulous dinner in the lodge, John had the kids compete in a firebuilding contest  that served as the campfire to cook s'mores.  After the s'mores the kids had the "ultimate watergun fight" using backpack firefighting bags John has on hand, since he's his own "first responder" for the fire department in that neck of the woods.

Water gun fight!

Colton having a ball

Our favorite Alaskan Dog - Denali - the tallest dog in Alaska!

Ethan before getting soaked.

Prior to the firebuilding contest, John had the kids help him gather some woood using his 6 -wheeled Ranger and the six passenger Kubota, letting each of the kids have a chance to drive.  Little did they know that this was their preparation for the next day's driving contest.  After setting up a course on his driveway, John let each ofs the kids pick the vehicle they wanted to drive, and had a scored driving test , with points deducted for eacrh cone hit, and points taken away for the FASTEST time.  After the second driver decided to be "painfully slow" so as to be sure to not be the fastest, the rules were modified for round two, deducting points for the fastest and slowest times.  This helped move things along!

After another restful night and fabulous breakfast the next morning, we headed out for the town of Seward to pick up Grandma and Grandpa DeAngelis off their cruise ship the following morning.  Making it into Seward in time for a little fishing, we hit the beach in Resurrection Bay where we were told the reds/sockeye were coming in. We found the spot and headed out with the masses to try our luck, which was zero. While we were packing up our tackle we heard a high pitched sound - then it got louder and became distinctly like a warning bell. We then heard something that sounded like someone talking on a mega phone - but we couldn't really make it out. Nobody seemed to pay it any attention, so we just kept packing up and went back to the van. In the parking lot people were on edge. It was a Tsunami warning. The problem was, no one knew if it was a test or the real thing. With an earthquake earlier that week on the Peninsula, we were happy to be heading towards high ground. We found out the next day it was a real warning, but was quickly aborted as the scientists realized a big wave was not going to come into Resurrection Bay.

King  Eider

the big Sea Lion

In the morning we hit the Seward Sea Life Center which was very cool. It is the only aquarium in Alaska and  we especially liked the huge Sea Lion, which weighed 1700 pounds. We finally know the differnece between a Sea Lion and Seal, seals being smaller, not able to sit up and not having the huge front flippers.


Our next stop was the cruise ship terminal where we picked up Mom and Dad DeAngelis. They had a nice cruise up the inside passage and will now stay in Homer for a week.
The week has been off to a nice start with the boys having sleepovers with Grandma and Grandpa and also doing a bit of fishing.

Colton and Grandma at Exit Glacier in Seward

Ethan and Grandpa having fun

NEWS FLASH!! The curse of the Kings for Tim is OVER!!! Yes - he caught 2 King Salmon this morning (finally). They were not as big as the boys, but at least he brought them in.  Ethan also brought in another one from the Homer Lagoon with Grandpa spotting as the schools swam by. It too was a little one, but should be tasty. We'll let you know as we're getting ready to put it on the soapstone now.

We're looking forward to a low key week with Grandma and grandpa, hoping to enjoy the beauty of Alaska that thrills us with wonder and it's stillness that fills us with peace.

The Call Of The Wild

The Call of the Wild Excerpt by Robert Service

Have you gazed on naked grandeur where there’s nothing else to gaze on, Set pieces and drop-curtain scenes galore, Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the blinding sunsets blazon, Black canyons where the rapids rip and roar? Have you swept the visioned valley with the green stream streaking through it, Searched the Vastness for a something you have lost? Have you strung your soul to silence? Then for God’s sake go and do it; Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

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We are off to explore the wild; we've heard the challenge and want to learn the lesson, but not sure about paying the cost.  We have started our "Interior trip."  This trip was planned with the goal for us to try to see the major highlights of interior Alaska without having to take a bush plane or boat to get there. We started off on Tuesday morning with a nice drive to Anchorage.   Anchorage is Alaska's largest city (about 300,00 people) and it is just that - a city, with urban sprawl, traffic and box stores.  It does however have a magnificant view of the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet. We did make one stop in the city which was the Anchorage Zoo.  The boys loved it. It had many arctic animals including polar bears, grizzleys, musk oxen, wolves, lynx and black bears.  Anna thought she should photograph the grizzles - just in case we didn't see one in the wild.
From Anchorage we continued our drive north to Talkeetna.

We had a great dinner at the Brewery

Talkeetna is a cute little climbing and fishing town. It's Town motto is " Talkeetna, a quaint little drinking town with a climbing problem."  Are you seeing a pattern here in Alaska town mottos and those we choose to visit?

Pick your poison

Rules at the Fairview Inn - the local hotspot.

Even 3,000 miles away folks are cheering on the Bruins!
This was posted on a wall outside a bar the morning
 after the big win!!

Talkeetna serves as the base for those climbers attempting to summit Denali - or  Mt. McKinnely as it was once called, which is the highest peak in North America at 20,300 feet (and apparently growing a bit each year).  Denali has it's own weather systems which make it one of the most difficult mountains to summit. We're told it's actually an easy climb, not technical at all, you just have to luck out with the weather. Climbers on average take 2-3 weeks to complete the summit climb, stopping for a few days rest at each of the seven established tent  city "camps" to acclimate their bodies to the change in elevation. The fastest (and luckiest) climbers can do it in as few as nine days and some have been known to be stuck on the mountain for 30 or even 40 days.  If it storms, you're stuck.  Last year a group was stuck at the highest base camp for 11 days.  They ran out of food and experienced altitude sickness, luckliy they are all survived.


This is not the case for 7 other climbers this year who have all died on the mountain.  This Mountain they call 'the tall one', Denali, is not to be taken lightly. Almost every year climbers die, most on the way down; many in avalanches and crevasse falls. If you are lucky enough to ever see the summit, you will understand why. The summit of Denali is only visable approximately 1 in every 3 days.  It can be clouded up for weeks at a time. Our time in Talkeetna proved to be one of these cloudy times and we could not appreciate the Mountain's grandeur.

Bush pilots prefer grass airstip over the airport

We did however appreciate this cute town for all it had to offer. It was fun to meet a few climbers who have just come off the mountain. They were easy to spot around town as they all had wicked tans and goggle lines on their faces - and some of them were walking a bit funny.  Each year the National Park Service permits at most 1, 500 climbers attempt Denali with only about 40-50% actually making the summit.  The most popular route is the South face, and climbers take an air taxi out of Talkeetna to Base Camp 1, at 7,000 feet.  To put Denali in perspective, think about Mount Everest. We all know it is the tallest moutain on the earth. However, it is cradled in the palm of the Himalyas well above 10,000 feet. Denali is in the Alaska range, with it's surrounding mountains only about 5,000 feet, so it REALLY sticks out.  Those who  climb Mount Everest, make a 12,000 foot ascent.  If you climb Denali, you make an 13,000 - 16,000  foot accent, depending on if you choose the south route or the north route.  Kudos to all those climbers who have summited the The Tall One.



The Roadhouse



We stayed at the historic Roadhouse (dating back to the 1910's), which is kind of like a hostel, with shared bathrooms and some shared rooms.  It also serves as one of the town's busiest restaurants.  All meals are family style with large tables. You never know who you will cozy up to in the mornings at breakfast, when it is the busiest. They are famous for their sourdough pancakes, and you can see why!!  

A half-order of sourdough pancakes. There is a large plate under it!



The Roadhouse also had a nice family room with games and books, a paino and guitar where customers just pick up and play.  Ethan enjoyed playing his version of Smoke On The Water on guitar while Anna tried to recall  how to play piano. Check out the Road house if you are ever in Talkeetna; it is by far the most eclectic & "colorful" place we have ever stayed and would recommend it to all. http://www.talkeetnaroadhouse.com/

It had been a couple of days since they went fishing and the boys were going through "withdrawls."  So after doing a little "elbow to elbow" fishing on some of the rivers for salmon (where 1 out every 4 people fishing were literally "armed for bear" with either a sidearm, or a shotgun slung over their back), they went to a small lake to try for some trout.  There they found the lake all to themselves with LOTS of over-eager rainbow trout.  Ethan caught his first trout all on his own and casting a dry fly.  Colton caught his first trout on a dry fly that HE TIED HIMSELF!  Though it would take a lot of those trout to equal one of the salmon they've caught, they made for a great couple of hours of fishing, the type of Alaskan fishing we had pictured before leaving VT. 

Ethan and his first trout on dry fly that he cast on a fly rod!



Colton preparing to re-cast his Mosquito fly, that he tied!
















On our way out of Talkeetna, we stopped at the largest birch syrup production facility in Alaska, the USA, or anywhere for that matter.  We got a very nice tour and watched a video about their operation and history, then swapped "sugaring stories."  Birch Syrup tastes nothing like Maple Syrup, but has it's own distinct flavor.  We learned that it takes over 100 gallons of birch sap to make a gallon of pure birch syrup.  Guess that's why it sells for over $70 a quart! There are a lot of similarities in the two operations (maple & birch) and few distinct differences.  Pipeline hasn't really been used much here, they use 5 gallon sheetrock buckets hung off the trees, and pump directly from the buckets into the transfer tanks on the back of four-wheelers or in sleds pulled by snowmobiles. 



From Talkeetna it was on to Denali National Park and preserve. Wow - what an amazing place! 

The Mountain is out!

Planning their route?

 Denali National Park and Preserve is over 6 million acreas of land, and it has ONE road - which is about 90 miles long.  Personal vehicles are only allowed up to mile 15 on the park road, as at this point the road becomes a one lane gravel road with two way traffic - not to mention high cliffs with no gaurdrails. We were lucky enough to have reservations at Savage River campground (which is 13 miles in off the park road) where we camped for two nights during our stay in Denali.

Your only chance of seeing more of park is to bike, hike, or take the bus. We took the bus! We rode the bus out as far as Eielson Visitor center which is about 65 miles up the road. On the way we saw 4 Grizzly bears, 3 of them sleeping; probably enjoying a rarity in Denali - an absolutely gorgeous blue sky, cloudless day!!! It was amazing. We were so thrilled to be able to finally see the Mountain in all her glory.  Neither our words, nor our pictures can do it justice.  You really have to see this one in person to appreciate it's grandeur and beauty.


A few of the many Caribou we saw from the bus



Grizzly bear - wild or zoo?

Dall Sheep up on a ridge

Grazing grizzly

Napping grizzlies

Another napping grizzly- 30 yards from the road.  Glad we didn't bike!

Mamma moose and her two babes

The Alaska Range from our hike. Denali is back in the clouds.

Once we got to the Eielson Visitor center we got off the bus and went on a Ranger guided hike up the Eielson ridge.  It was only a mile hike up, but it gained 1,000 feet of elevation.  Once our heart rates slowed we really enjoyed the beauty of walking along the ridge and exploring the tundra. This is one of the very few trails in the park, as most hiking is done off trail - just hiking up the tundra. The Tundra is quite squishy in places, and beautiful with many wildflowers blooming.  It is very different from most National Parks as the "stay on the trail" rule does not apply- since there really are no trails. It's a bit hard to get used to, but feels more wild than any place we have ever been, once you get off the beaten path.  This wild place we have explored is now a special part of all of us.

"The smaller we come to feel ourselves compared to the mountain, the nearer we come to participating in its greatness. I do not know why this is so."
                             Arne Naess

On our way out of the park we took some time to learn about the National Park Service's Dog Sled team. As no motorized vehicles are allowed in 2 million of the nearly 7 million acres in Denali National Parks "Wilderness area", dog sled is the only way to patrol the park in the winter, which runs 8 months a year. They have a team of 31 working dogs, a full-time handler & musher (along with numerous summer season staff)and gave a great demonstration of the work they do. We asked a lot of questions regarding their adoption program for retired workers. The big stipulation is that you have an active family and you have to come to Denali to pick up your dog - hmmmm, interesting.
 
Well - now off to Fairbanks to enjoy the Summer Solstice as far north as we will travel this trip.  At Denali we only had 20 hours of sunlight a day.  In Fairbanks the sun is up over 21 hours, and it never really gets dark. We really don't miss the dark that much, and at least we're saving on flashlight batteries while camping!