Better weather greeted us this morning. Without wasting any time, we left our campground to capture some of the sites we have seen through raindrops on Monday and Tuesday.First stop is a glimpse of the Alaskan Pipeline. While we photographed it on Monday as we drove to Fairbanks, this vantage point allows one to actually walk under the pipeline and get some great angles. It’s worth noting that the FBI has multiple signs posted near the pipeline, encouraging the reporting of any known malicious behavior towards the pipeline. We didn’t see and surveillance equipment, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise us if it did exist. Imagine one of these lines being tampered with in some way.
Before leaving Fairbanks, we also want to photograph a sculpture entitled, “First Family”. It is located in Heart Center Park in downtown Fairbanks. Depicted in the sculpture is a Native Alaskan family, clad in parkas. Near
the work of art is a milepost marker. It lists the distances to various cities around the world.
Salmon bakes are a tradition in Alaska and particularly, Fairbanks. Many of the bakes include some type of after dinner entertainment. We photographed one near the Pioneer Park.
Leaving Fairbanks, we head towards Denali. As we travel south on Highway 3, we will see shorter days. There is actually a two-hour difference in daylight hours between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Because of Fairbanks’ close proximity to the Arctic Circle it has extremely long days. Locals say it isn’t that unusual to see someone watering their flowers at midnight in Fairbanks. Speaking of flowers, the flora is enormous in this region. We are sure that it perks locals up to see the
brightly colored pots and beds in the summer months. Imagine the drab weather they experience in the winter. The long days are replaced with the exact opposite: long, long nights.
Remember the outlets I mentioned a couple posts ago at Wal-Mart? I described them as options for RV rigs whose owners wanted to camp out at the commercial giant. Wrong. I found out the real purpose for the outlets: WINTER. It is so cold in Fairbanks, often 30 degrees below or colder, that folks heading in to their local Wal-Mart must connect to an electrical outlet to keep their engine, oil, etc. from freezing. They say that you will see vehicles running down the highway in Fairbanks with an electrical cord hanging from the grille. Drive in to your favorite grocery store or restaurant, plug in your engine’s snuggly electric blanket and enjoy shopping or a meal. Makes me feel guilty for whining about our Michigan winters.
The road to Denali is peppered with ongoing road construction. Can’t complain too much as they have such a short window of opportunity to repair roads. The first stop of consequence is a little town (545 residents) called, Nenana. Now Nenana rhymes with “banana”. Through Nenana flows the Tenana Riv
er. You would think Tenana would rhyme as well. No, Tenana is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable. Right.
We photograph a sod-roofed visitors’ center that is consumed in beautiful annual flowers. Flowers are in pots, beds, everywhere. Nenana is located at the confluence of the Tenana and Nenana Rivers. This was an important positioning point in the early days when supplies were transported via barge. Because of its
geographic location it was a natural for the railroad. Supplies could be interchanged here. In fact, this is town where President William Harding drove the golden spike, the completion of the Alaskan Railroad in 1923. His railroad car traveled through this sleepy, but flower-filled village.
Before leaving Fairbanks, we also want to photograph a sculpture entitled, “First Family”. It is located in Heart Center Park in downtown Fairbanks. Depicted in the sculpture is a Native Alaskan family, clad in parkas. Near
the work of art is a milepost marker. It lists the distances to various cities around the world.Salmon bakes are a tradition in Alaska and particularly, Fairbanks. Many of the bakes include some type of after dinner entertainment. We photographed one near the Pioneer Park.
Leaving Fairbanks, we head towards Denali. As we travel south on Highway 3, we will see shorter days. There is actually a two-hour difference in daylight hours between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Because of Fairbanks’ close proximity to the Arctic Circle it has extremely long days. Locals say it isn’t that unusual to see someone watering their flowers at midnight in Fairbanks. Speaking of flowers, the flora is enormous in this region. We are sure that it perks locals up to see the
brightly colored pots and beds in the summer months. Imagine the drab weather they experience in the winter. The long days are replaced with the exact opposite: long, long nights.Remember the outlets I mentioned a couple posts ago at Wal-Mart? I described them as options for RV rigs whose owners wanted to camp out at the commercial giant. Wrong. I found out the real purpose for the outlets: WINTER. It is so cold in Fairbanks, often 30 degrees below or colder, that folks heading in to their local Wal-Mart must connect to an electrical outlet to keep their engine, oil, etc. from freezing. They say that you will see vehicles running down the highway in Fairbanks with an electrical cord hanging from the grille. Drive in to your favorite grocery store or restaurant, plug in your engine’s snuggly electric blanket and enjoy shopping or a meal. Makes me feel guilty for whining about our Michigan winters.
The road to Denali is peppered with ongoing road construction. Can’t complain too much as they have such a short window of opportunity to repair roads. The first stop of consequence is a little town (545 residents) called, Nenana. Now Nenana rhymes with “banana”. Through Nenana flows the Tenana Riv
er. You would think Tenana would rhyme as well. No, Tenana is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable. Right.We photograph a sod-roofed visitors’ center that is consumed in beautiful annual flowers. Flowers are in pots, beds, everywhere. Nenana is located at the confluence of the Tenana and Nenana Rivers. This was an important positioning point in the early days when supplies were transported via barge. Because of its
geographic location it was a natural for the railroad. Supplies could be interchanged here. In fact, this is town where President William Harding drove the golden spike, the completion of the Alaskan Railroad in 1923. His railroad car traveled through this sleepy, but flower-filled village. Another claim to fame for Nenana is that it holds an annual ice melt classic. The town places a tripod type contraption on the river during the winter months. People across Alaska purchase tickets for $2.50, guessing when the ice will melt and the tripod will fall into the water. The tripod is equipped with a sophisticated timing device to record the day, hour, minute and second of the melt. The person or persons with the closest time wins a portion of the money. Kind of like the contests people hold at work to guess when "Sally" is going to have her baby and how much it will weigh. The old J.P. McCarthy used to have a contest to guess when the snow would melt on a mountain in the U.P. of Michigan years ago. You get the picture.
As we continue south on Highway 3, we are treated to breathtaking, albeit cloudy vistas of the impending mountains. Oh, what a treat is in store for us. At Denali, we will hopefully see abundant wildlife, and most importantly, Mt. McKinley. Statuesque at 20,320 feet, it is hard to mistake its presence. It dwarfs the surrounding mountains. We will orient ourselves upon arrival in the town of Denali. With numerous restrictions for travel in Denali National Park, we will have to strategize how we will capture the images we desire. You can read all you want about Denali and listen to the suggestions of others, but until you get there, it doesn’t make sense.
Mt. McKinley National Park was designated as such in 1917. It originally encompassed two million acres. It is celebrating its 90th year in 2007. When additional park land was added to encompass more migratory land for caribou and other wildlife, it was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve. Ninety years ago, some people felt it was unnecessary to designate that much land for a National Park. Now it is understood how important that decision was.
If you’ve ever been a jigsaw puzzle person, you can imagine scene after scene of the Denali Landscape transformed into 500 or 1,000 piece puzzles. Lots of greens, blues and beiges for you to piece together.
First things first, we need to find a campground. That accomplished, we decide to find the
Visitor’s Center and get first-hand information. There is also a fifteen-mile road we can take today. Who knows, we might see some wildlife. Traveling by car (or in our case, motor home), you can only travel fifteen miles into the park. If you want to go further, you must purchase a ticket and ride with the Park bus system.
We have been promised great weather the next few days, but with the terrain and relative closeness to masses of water, it is not always predictable. We have finalized an 8-hour bus
trip that will take us 64 miles into the Park at Fish Creek and approximately 40 miles from Mt. McKinley. The closest you can get by road is to travel to Wonder Lake. That trip takes 12 hours and neither of us can really envision 12 hours on a school bus. These are not Greyhound type vehicles. No air conditioning, no cushy seats, no on-board restrooms, no DVDs. We think that 8 hours will do just fine.
One interesting thing we saw today was a passenger train stopped at the train station within Denali. Apparently, the cruise ships that bring passengers to Alaskan ports also have their own train cars. Within the line of train cars were designated double decker cars for Holland America and Princess Cruise Lines. The railroad is a popular way to travel in Alaska for those seeking to see the interior of the state, but not having a vehicle.
On our fifteen-mile excursion, we did see a caribou and a moose. They were not within good camera range, but hopefully on our bus ride into the interior of the park tomorrow, we will be treated to caribou, moose, and the grizzly!
As we continue south on Highway 3, we are treated to breathtaking, albeit cloudy vistas of the impending mountains. Oh, what a treat is in store for us. At Denali, we will hopefully see abundant wildlife, and most importantly, Mt. McKinley. Statuesque at 20,320 feet, it is hard to mistake its presence. It dwarfs the surrounding mountains. We will orient ourselves upon arrival in the town of Denali. With numerous restrictions for travel in Denali National Park, we will have to strategize how we will capture the images we desire. You can read all you want about Denali and listen to the suggestions of others, but until you get there, it doesn’t make sense.
Mt. McKinley National Park was designated as such in 1917. It originally encompassed two million acres. It is celebrating its 90th year in 2007. When additional park land was added to encompass more migratory land for caribou and other wildlife, it was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve. Ninety years ago, some people felt it was unnecessary to designate that much land for a National Park. Now it is understood how important that decision was.
If you’ve ever been a jigsaw puzzle person, you can imagine scene after scene of the Denali Landscape transformed into 500 or 1,000 piece puzzles. Lots of greens, blues and beiges for you to piece together.
First things first, we need to find a campground. That accomplished, we decide to find the
Visitor’s Center and get first-hand information. There is also a fifteen-mile road we can take today. Who knows, we might see some wildlife. Traveling by car (or in our case, motor home), you can only travel fifteen miles into the park. If you want to go further, you must purchase a ticket and ride with the Park bus system.We have been promised great weather the next few days, but with the terrain and relative closeness to masses of water, it is not always predictable. We have finalized an 8-hour bus
trip that will take us 64 miles into the Park at Fish Creek and approximately 40 miles from Mt. McKinley. The closest you can get by road is to travel to Wonder Lake. That trip takes 12 hours and neither of us can really envision 12 hours on a school bus. These are not Greyhound type vehicles. No air conditioning, no cushy seats, no on-board restrooms, no DVDs. We think that 8 hours will do just fine.
One interesting thing we saw today was a passenger train stopped at the train station within Denali. Apparently, the cruise ships that bring passengers to Alaskan ports also have their own train cars. Within the line of train cars were designated double decker cars for Holland America and Princess Cruise Lines. The railroad is a popular way to travel in Alaska for those seeking to see the interior of the state, but not having a vehicle.
On our fifteen-mile excursion, we did see a caribou and a moose. They were not within good camera range, but hopefully on our bus ride into the interior of the park tomorrow, we will be treated to caribou, moose, and the grizzly!
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