Day 12

We're finally back in Anchorage and getting ready to fly home tomorrow. I have to be up in 5 hours. . . so, I must go to bed STAT. I will finish the blog from the road if I have access.

Indianapolis, here I come. . .

Day 11 Denali National Park

Today is what Eliot and I have been waiting for the entire trip. Denali. This was the big moment for seeing all the wildlife and Mt. McKinley. And let me tell you, it was RIDICULOUS. We saw more animals than any other tour of the summer--and the weather, although it started off a little foggy, was basically perfect.

We saw:

moose

caribou

bears

wolves

two-thousand kinds of birds

a lynx

a tundra squirrel

It was nuts. Some of the stuff was fairly far away, but here are some pics. . .

This guy was RIGHT by the road. He was rubbing his antlers on a willow bush to scrap off the "velvet" coating they get during the summer. You can see the dark stuff hanging off his left antler...that's the velvet. The bus just stops and you hang out and take pics, hence the tree in the foreground, but it was still pretty amazing. These things are HUGE. 7.5 feet at the shoulder with an adult male, or bull, weighing 1200-2000 lbs.

The lynx was too fast for a photo. But, we saw one. The only type of cat in Alaska. In the wild, at least.

This is how foggy it was when we left this morning. You could probably tell in the moose pic, too.

Willow Ptarmigan. Silent P. State bird of Alaska. It will molt and grow a set of entirely white feathers in the winter. Sneaky.

The picture thing keeps crashing and I am getting annoyed and tired. I will post all the pics tomorrow if it is working.

Basically, all we did today was the Denali Bus Tour--it took almost 9 hours. It was great fun, but rather exhausting.

Tomorrow we take the train back to Anchorage and spend the night before our flight home on Monday. Hopefully I can get the pics going again tomorrow. Until then. . .

Day 9 Fairbanks, Museum of the North, El Dorado Gold Mine, The Pipeline, Aurora Borealis Day 10 Train to Denali, Whitewater Rafting, Politics

First things first, allow me to apologize to my public for keeping them waiting regarding yesterday's activities. 1,000 apologies. I am starting to get quite tired and we are starting to get up earlier and earlier . . .Let me start with the above image. This truck passed us while we waiting on the sidewalk for our rental car. Made me miss my man.

Fairbanks is one of the nicest spots we've seen thus far. Quaint, fairly clean town and we had GREAT weather. Upper 60's. Fairbanks has the highest level of temperature fluctuation in the Western Hemisphere. It can be 90 -100 degrees in the summer and as low as -60 degrees in the winter. Um, I would die of allergy overload. It has a cute town square with a visitor center and plenty of shops.

It is so cold here, that in the winter people leave their car running when they go into the market so their engine's don't seize. Yikes. So cold, in fact, that all of the street meters and plugs where engine block heaters can be plugged in while you are parked. The next pic is the plug sticking out of the front of our rental car.

Our first stop was the University of Alaska's Museum of the North. It is on the U of A, Fairbanks campus and is said to be the best museum in all of Alaska. Obviously I love art, so this was one of the things that was at the top of my list. It was a very contemporary building that had just undergone a 43 million dollar renovation. The design of the building is meant to resemble Alaska's geographical design--how the tectonic plates meet up in this region and so on.
I love ravens and was especially pleased when on the sides of the spiral staircase leading from the ground level to the second floor was a sculptural installation of three raven chicks. They are made from 2.5 and 3-inch nails soldered together and then powder-coated and painted. Very cool.After the Museum, we had a quick lunch and then headed to the El Dorado Gold Mine. The place was run by a woman name Yukon and her husband Dexter. Quite the characters. We took a train ride through the old mining area getting a tour of all of the equipment, etc before being giving a panning demonstration. At the end, we panned for our own gold. I got $10.50 worth and Eliot got $17. Bastard. They gave us each a bag of "dirt" and we sat at a trough like thing with our pans and went to work. Ok, all you people who have been asking for pics of mom and dad. Here they are panning for gold and riding the train. . .

Here is a pic of me holding the biggest nugget they have ever found at the mine. It was heavy as hell and worth, are you ready, $40,000! Whoa.

After finishing up at the mine, we headed back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped at a pipeline viewing area where we got to see The Alaska Pipeline up close and personal. Very interesting. 800 miles long with about 430 miles underground. The oil comes down around 100 degrees, but the pipeline is not hot to the touch because of all of the insulation built into it. Its zig-zag pattern is designed to help the pipeline "move" due to the expansion/contraction from the drastic differences in temperature.

Before going in search of the Aurora Borealis, we had dinner at the streak house behind our hotel. I had the 6oz filet and a brick of au gratin potatoes. Delish.

After dinner we drove to a remote location in the mountains to checks out the Aurora Borealis. There was no Aurora Borealis. Its a teeny bit early in the season to see it and it doesn't usually come around until 1 am and 3 am. Very late. Especially since 1 or 3 means 5 or 7 at home. Eliot and I might try again in Denali.

That catches us up and brings us to today. I am happy to report that Naomi was nowhere to be seen on today's train ride. Thank You, Jesus!

We had a nice ride down to Denali and went immediately onto the white water rafting trip. I've taken a picture of the picture they took of us to post. So, don't expect high quality, but you had to get a sneak peak at these outfits. (Eliot and I took pics on the ride, but with disposable water proof cameras--not digital). They put you in a dry suit which is sort of like something you would expect to wear if you were on Dirty Jobs, or inspecting something on the sun, or cleaning the cc restrooms. This thing was ridiculous. The water was all of 36 degrees, it was windy as hell and about halfway through it started raining on and off. Ugh. We had a great time though. I wish we would have taken the higher class of rapids. Eliot and I were kind of bored. But, all in all, it was fun.

Our mom and Eliot are in the front and our dad and I are in the back. We all look rather elephantine in this pic due to the bulk of the suits. Do you see what I was talking about?!

After rafting, and getting up so early to get on the train, were were exhausted. We ate in the lodge restaurant and then got ready to hit the sack. I had Center Cut Roasted Pork Loin with an Apple-Ginger gastrique, sweet potato mash, and seasonal vegetables. Yum. I guess I am going to have to start cooking again when I get home after eating all this delicious food. 6 months of toast is starting to look little boring.

One thing I forgot. . .check out the retro his and hers t-shits Eliot and I got at the Mine yesterday. . .

Tomorrow we are up early again for a Tundra Tour into Denali Park where we better see some bears. It goes near Mt. McKinley--pray for clear skies so we have a chance to see it. We have to get on the bus at 6:15am. Yikes.

Some business, quickly:

Trix--You're on. Email me. Why didn't you tell me you had a blog?

Mel--I tried to get a covert pic of the kid, but it was difficult and beginning to feel a little "To Catch a Predator"-ish for my comfort level. P.S. Thanks for listening all those random things with no context to make people think I am crazy. (Because nobody did before that.)

ALK--The raft was grey.

Lori--I thought that was how you liked it.

ARS--Don't forget to drop off the Exterra at the airport. Your love-sick craziness is making me doubt that you can make good decisions. If my boys are dead, we are going to have words.

FINALLY, politics. I think I have done an extraordinary job not filling my blog with political rantings. I have only watched about 7 minutes of CNN while on the trip and that was after my mother turned the tv on. I have not been keeping up with my news addictions, namely, CNN, MSNBC, Rachel Maddow. Of course, I looked to see who Obama choose. Let down. I mean, you knew it would be a white, experienced man, but Joe Biden? Then today with McCain. Holy Crap. Obviously Sarah Palin is the Gov. of Alaska, so I have had ample opportunity to interview people here about her. They ADORE her. It is UNREAL. She is like the fascist, 1990s Clinton(Bill) of the north. Total girl next door, reformer, family woman, local, sporty/outdoorsy--SHE SHOOTS ANIMALS. This is going to be a crazy election.

Does anyone else think that wearing open-toed shoes to your coming out party is a little slutty, or is that just me?

Disclaimer

We spent half the night looking for the Aurora Borealis and just got back to the hotel. 1:30am Alaska time. We have to be up at 6:00 to catch the train; so, I will have to post about today tomorrow AM or in the afternoon after rafting. Hopefully there will be no Naomis on this leg of the journey.

Day 8 Life on the Rail: 355 miles Anchorage to Fairbanks

I've always liked trains. I think they are old school, a little romantic, and in general an enjoyable experience. Until today.

Many of you are familiar with my hatred of almost all people. Especially children. Now, obviously, there are children that belong to people that I love that I am forced to become acclimated to, and on occasion, do actually enjoy. These are exceptions. Today I encountered a terrifying 3 year old named Naomi. Why do I know her name you ask? Because I heard it called about 4.6 MILLION times. Naomi was cute enough I suppose--brown hair in pigtails, little jeans, cute shoes--typical outfit for someone her age. She appeared pleasant enough until approximately 2 minutes into the train ride when the screaming began.

Most everyone has heard a child cry at some point in their life. Imagine the worst crying jag you have ever experienced and then multiple it by FOREVER and you have the agonizing wail of Naomi. I actually thought at one point she might be missing a limb or something. Obviously some sort of staggering trauma must have occurred to cause such revolting noise to come out of a child.

FINALLY her mother (who was one of those moms that thought anything her child did was precious even if it was robbing a bank, etc.) got her quited down. That was when the manic phase of the rapid-cycling bi-polar behavior began. What is worse than the morbid, blood-curdling scream of a 3 year old? One that sings.

She sang, loudly, for what I am going to estimate was around two hours. Actual songs, made up songs, humming, la dee dah-ing--all of it. Then one of the worst possible things occurred. She came into our car. (Oh, yes--all of this previous behavior has been observed/heard FROM ANOTHER CAR). In our car, we had an observation deck that consisted of an open stairway that leads to the top part of a car that has windows on three sides to aid in viewing wildlife, scenery, etc. Grandpa and Naomi went up into the observation car, which you are supposed to be limited to 20 minutes at a time, for the REST OF THE RIDE.

At this point, grandpa is holding court in the car telling stories about how he used to live in Alaska and how so much has changed, etc while Miss Naomi has removed her shoes and socks, put her socks on her hands like mittens, and replaced her shoes on her bare feet. She then commences to roll around on the rancid train floor, while singing and bumping into people, and generally annoying all who are in her vicinity.

By then end, I was praying for a derailment, oil spill, Caribou attack, earthquake, volcano (they have those here), landslide, avalanche, anything. We finally arrive at the station, after 12 hours on the train, and took the shuttle to our hotel, checked in, and had dinner at a little Italian place around the corner. I had the Chicken Rosemary Pizza--a white sauce pizza with chicken, feta, kalamata olives, rosemary and tomatoes--of course I requested no tomatoes. It was pretty good. I am going to post some pics I took on the train during the few moments I was able to concentrate. . .

We rode right past the river where we will be white water rafting on Friday. Looks fun. If our raft is pink like the one in the pic, I am not going to be happy. As you can see, it was fairly misty outside this morning when our train ride began, but most of it burned off by afternoon. Tomorrow we are going to rent a car and check out Fairbanks. We might pan for gold, check out the Museum, go to the Arctic circle and stay out late to look for the Aurora Borealis. (aka the Northern Lights--the funky colors in the Alaskan sky at night that can be viewed clearly if one is far enough north.) And, if we run into Naomi, wish her good lookin' out, because its going to get ugly.

Day 7 The Alaskan Heritage Center, The Ulu Factory and Downtown Anchorage

This morning we started out at the Alaska Heritage Center. It is an entire complex, sort of a mini Conner Prairie, where there are replicas of Inuit housing, canoes, animal traps, totem pole, etc. Inside the actual building is a theatre, local artist display area, gift shop, and performance/demonstration area. We saw a young guy do an athletic demonstration of some of the games that Alaskans compete in. Here is a pic of the "Strong Arm Stretch." The point is balancing your entire body on one arm while trying to reach up and touch a bird on a string. Pretty crazy. Next we saw a native dance performance complete with drumming and singing. Pretty cool.

Before going outside to see the rest of the center, we looked at the local artisan displays. Some were so beautiful. I am posting a pic of my favorite. It's an antique window frame filled with hand embroidered and dyed seal intestine. Extraordinary.

Outside we looked at all the reconstructed housing and tools of the different Inuit tribes. Very interesting. At the end was a gigantic totem pole.

I think my favorite part of the Center was the short film we watched on Whaling and what it means to the Inuit culture. They are, by most standards, a very spiritual people and their ideas about whaling and hunting in general were extremely fascinating. They believe/practice what they call "Subsistence Living" -- meaning that they hunt and provide and work the land to achieve what they need to survive. In the hunting season, they apply with the government for Subsistence Leave (very similar to FMLA benefits) that allow anyone involved in "the hunt" to leave their work and focus entirely on hunting. Isn't that unreal? The whole philosophy behind the hunting is to work in community together and share with anyone and everyone the spoils of the hunt.

Much of their equipment has been modernized. They use snow mobiles to move large supplies to the ice's edge and set up synthetic tents to stay warm while waiting for the whales to appear. Mechanical harpoons are used as well as more traditional methods. When a whale has been spotted, the hunter board their boats and sail out into the ocean to harpoon it and drag it to shore. It is hoisted onto the ice by block and tackle. Seriously. A 50 ton whale might take 12 hours to hoist onto the ice--this is with almost the entire community helping to pull.

They say a prayer while hunting and believe the actual moment of the kill is sacred. Inuits believe that if they live a community centered life, have adequate equipment to harvest and distribute the blubber and meat of the whale, and will share with whomever is in need at any time, the whale with give itself up to be killed by the tribe so that they might survive. Super interesting.

After all the touring about, we had lunch in the Center cafe. I had a Reindeer Dog. (Yes, as in Rudolph.) 80% Reindeer, 20% Beef. Odd.

Next up was The Ulu (OO-loo) Factory. The native Alaskan knife and cutting/chopping blocks are produced here. Very hip stuff. The block/board has a flat side for regular chopping of vegetables, etc. while the other side has a bowl carved in to chop things like nuts or herbs. I would post a photo, but I already packed mine and my entire family is sleeping while I am in the corner with my computer making unpacking it fairly unwise.

After all of this excitement, we headed to dinner before returning the rental car. We tried a BBQ place that my mom had read about. It had very rustic decor to say the least. The food was fairly good, but not anything too exciting. I had the BBQ Chicken/Baby Back Ribs combo and ate about 1/3 of it. It was a ridiculous portion of food. Underneath that breast and wing in the pic, is a thigh and leg. Whoa.

Finally, we returned the rental car and called our hotel for the shuttle to pick us up. My mom was interested in walking back, 10 blocks south and 7 east, but none of us were really jacked up about that. In the end, I gave in and walked back with her where we did the requisite tourist trap shopping buying the obligatory t-shirt, etc. I did buy something that will probably end up changing my life. . .

SSA, ARS, SML Tuesday, September 2nd, 8pm -- dinner and this:

This is the last sign we saw before turning to get into our hotel. Life's two necessities, obviously.

Tomorrow we take the train to Fairbanks. We have to be at the station by 7:15 and the trip starts at 8:15. It takes t-w-e-l-v-e hours. 12. Unbelievable. We should be able to get some good scenery views. Mt. McKinley might even be viewable in the distance if the weather is clear enough. I expect an amusing tale to unfold tomorrow. Get ready.

Day 6 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Driving back to Anchorage

Here are the pics that wouldn't load from yesterday. Eliot and the Ray-Ban's is probably self-explanatory. The other is the "moose" that was on the front porch of our "hotel" last night. Inside said establishment was more of the same. Really?

This morning we drove down to the entrance of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It was about an hour away from where we were staying. One of the only access roads to the park, the McCarthy Road, was the way we were planning to enter the park. It is a 61 mile unpaved VERY ROUGH gravel-ish road. Whoa, it was bad. Ever vigilant, we continued. We were really excited about some seeing some wildlife. Well, about half-way down the road, and 2.5 hours after leaving the "hotel," we had only seen these two random swans in a marshy field. Frustrated and well-over the unpaved road, we turned around and headed back toward Anchorage.

On the way back, we finally got a glimpse of the Alaskan Pipeline. As I'm sure most of you know, the pipeline is how oil is transported from Prudhoe Bay/the Arctic ocean to Valdez where it is picked up by tanker trucks. It was interesting to see it in person. I kept thinking about how odd it seemed that the pipeline was the most efficient way to get oil from the Arctic Circle to Valdez.
About half way back to Anchorage, we stopped to take a few pictures of one of glaciers in the area. Really beautiful. Eliot had noticed a grave yard last night that we stopped to check out today. Very interesting. Odd fences around each grave painted bizarre colors.

The whole trip we have been keeping our eyes peeled to observe some wildlife in their natural habitat. We're absolutely killing it with the whales. Two different species in one trip--unheard of. However, bears, moose, caribou, etc are proving harder to peep out. Eliot and I informed our mother that she needed to be on the lookout for any signs of wildlife. She and our dad have been sitting in the back seat the whole trip. They will occasionally get out their camera/video camera and take some shots and our mom is pretty good about using her binoculars to look at scenery, etc. Let me just take a few moments to give you a little background on our mother's observational skills. She has freakish powers relating to both hearing and seeing. As kids, we could be out in the yard THINKING something and she would come out and interview us. She is the person you would always ask to come over and find something tiny and brown you dropped on brown carpet and so on. Seriously, I'm not sure why she isn't working for the government or something.

Now, she is taking the assignment of finding wildlife REALLY seriously. The binoculars aren't out or anything, but she is giving ample consideration to the scenery on her side of the road. The day prior, on the way to the National Park, we passed an area that was allegedly the home to several Dall Sheep. We pulled off and looked for them and saw absolutely nothing. Well, when we drive through the same area today, our mother says she is going to find a sheep. Eliot and I thought "yeah, whatever" and kept driving. About 2 minutes later she says "There's one. Stop! There's a sheep." Flabbergasted, we pull off the road and sure enough--an entire family of Dall Sheep is standing on the edge of the mountain staring down at us. Are you kidding me?

I am going to put up a pic that I took with my zoom lens, fully zoomed out--equivalent to 6x closer than the human eye sees. Granted, these pics are relatively small, so they will not be the most accurate examples, but. . . (those white blobs are sheep)

Now, this is the pic taken at 50mm--approximately what the human eye sees--the white dot in the middle of the frame--THAT is a sheep. This is what she saw with her 59 year old eyes, from a car with tinted windows moving @ 75 mph.

Does this freak anyone else out?

We made one other stop on the way back to Anchorage where Eliot was channeling John Shaw taking macro shots of flowers. For you non-photography people, John Shaw is to Nature Photography what Brittney Spears is to rehab.

The biggest news of the day is that Eliot totally bit it going down a hill when we thought we were chasing a caribou. All of the sudden he was there and then he wasn't. When I got up to him, his ass was totally covered in mud as was a good bit of his camera. Ah, sweet revenge.

In closing, I would like to post a pic of my injured hand. You might not be able to tell, but my entire thumb top and bottom and the surrounding area is a purple-ish, black-ish, green.

Finally, shout out to my girl Amy who is celebrating her birthday in Niagara Falls with her new man. She thinks I have forgotten about her bday/trip, but I have just been hanging out across the country.

I also want to send a shout out to Adolf, who like any good work husband should, has been leaving a comment on every blog entry--even if most of them are about CC. I love that fascist bastard.

Tomorrow we are hanging out in and around Anchorage before heading to Fairbanks on Wednesday. Weather permitting, we are going to do some fishing and horseback riding (not simultaneously) as well as check out the Alaskan Heritage Museum. Until then. . .