More Alaska

Sunset over the Yukon Flats, Dalton Highway

Last friday was my last day at work and the next day I met my dad at the Denali National Park train depot. From there we packed his bags up, got a campsite and headed to 49th state brewery for some yummy mac and cheese and an array of tasty microbrews. We then went in search for access to a large wind farm we spotted off in the distance. There are not very many side roads in Alaska, especially in small towns. We found the camp for the construction workers, building the project but could not get close to where they were actually working. The Eva Creek Wind Farm was across the river in a place where you could not drive. We assumed that from their camp the workers get on a bus and drive to the end of the road, walk across the train trestle and then get to another bus and trucks which had been hauled and dropped off on the other side. It was a little disappointment when we found out we could not get much closer. The project which has been in the works all summer will conclude around October creating Alaska's largest wind farm.

Mt Mckinley, a few weeks old but one of my favorites 

Fuzzy Ground cover

The next day we decided to head down to Talkeetna, about 170 miles South for the evening. With the rains coming into the area we were in, we hoped heading south would lead to clear skies and great views of Mt. Mckinley. Sure enough, we had two wonderful days of viewing the mountain with some of the most picture esc views of the summer. The highway from the Denali Park entrance to Talkeetna runs closely to the boarders of the National Park and also the Denali State park.

 Because of this we were hoping to get some wonderful wildlife sightings as well. Sure enough we got to see a line of six Caribou, all with full racks portaging a river. A very iconic and spectacular sight indeed. We also saw a couple groups of Dall Sheep up on the mountains.

Bald Eagle

Down near Talkeetna there is a neighboring town on the other side of the river called Trapper Creek. Even though they are neighboring and just on the other side of the river, they are still thirty miles away from each other. The closest bridge across the river is fifteen miles away. Anyways, in Trapper Creek there is a road called Petersville Road. This paved and mostly gravel road heads towards Mt. Mckinley, to be the closest point you can drive a car to the mountain. We spotted this road on a map and tried to drive it. The potholes got to brutal and large for the mini to conquer so we aborted, though an hour and a half in and close to the end of the road. We had dreams of spotting lots of wildlife along this road as well but there were too many hunters in the area who had other ambitions. It was a somewhat disappointing trip seeing that we did not get to get great great views of the mountain nor spotted any wildlife either but still a very scenic road.

Tundra Swans (we think)

We got back and to the Parks Highway and continued the rest of the way to Talkeetna. Talkeetna is the jump off point for anyone who comes to Alaska to ascend Mt. Mckinley. Even though the mountain is at least 50 miles away it towers over the town giving an amazing backdrop. We set up camp at a hostel and then checked out Denali Brewing Company and Twister Creek Restaurant. This small little brewery in the quaint, touristy, hippyish town of Talkeetna became my favorite brewer of any Alaskan beer on the trip thus far. The next morning after a hike down the river, coffee and bagel we headed back to Denali National Park. Sure, its not the most efficient way of seeing Alaska when you look at a map but efficiencies are not our priority on this trip. We came back to Denali to primarily see a slide show of a photographers work in the area. He was a photographer, late twenties or thirty who shoots on slide film, a real side show. It was inspiration for me to continue shooting more and more photos. That night my dad and I hiked out to a train trestle to shoot some photos, a cold night and caught a picture with a shooting star. Not the best photo but a really sweet capture. We had hopes of seeing the auroras but had no luck.

Shooting Star in Denali National Park

The next morning it was 16 degrees when we awoke, packed up our tent and headed off on the Denali Highway. The Denali Highway is a gravel highway which cuts across the center of the state. A very rural road which parallels the Denali Mountain Range which we were sad to see was again, over run by hunters. Around 140 miles long we saw two moose and one baby caribou a couple bald eagles and a hand full of waterfowl. We were hoping to see a lot more large mammals but the the majority of the ones we saw were camouflaged and on ATVs. With all the Caribou antlers on the backs of trucks and hanging up at camps and a lack of seeing any we only envisioned all the Caribou were all getting hunted out. However, when we stopped to camp we talked to one of the hunters. He was the only one we saw who was headed out by bicycle and trailer to hunt. He reassured us of the vast amount, hundreds of Caribou which had just been pushed farther away from the road. There are only 7,000 caribou tags this year he said, up from the normal 5,000 because of growing populations. There are still more Caribou in Alaska than there are humans.

View from the Denali Highway

Our camp on the Denali Highway

From the end of the Denali Highway we headed south to Valdez to catch a ride on the Alaska Marine Highway, or ferry. To our disappointment the ferry was booked for the next week so we turned around and drove instead. Valdez was beautiful from what we could see, tall mountains right near the ocean with glacial waterfalls in every direction. The next day we decided to make a little side trip to Whittier. I was told there was not much there, there is not, but it was a very unique place. There is one, one lane, 2.5 mile tunnel to get to Wittier. This tunnel alternates between car traffic, in and out, as well as the train line. It was a beautiful day in Whittier and an oddity of a place. The town is in a cove with high cliff walls and not much of an industry, a very small port, sea kayaking and whale watching excursions. The town was a WWII naval port which had excellent natural protection. Hidden in a cove, a 2.5 mile tunnel and weather which normally harbors thick fog made it a perfect hiding place for a military base.

Afternoon view off of Petersville Rd. 

Now we have made it to the Kenai Peninsula and we are sitting in an old church which has been converted into a coffee shop in Seward, AK. A dreary day here with low clouds and rain but we will try to make the best of it. Hopefully the weather clears soon, we have a lot of exploring to do here on the Kenai.

7:45am 16 degrease looking out at the Denali Range