Final Pix from the Cruise

In the Kayak

First day

Sandy scouting for whales

There she blows!

Sandy and Tom whale watching

In front of a glacier

Alpine lupines on a hike

Tom in his Mustang suit

Above a glacier

The End

Update

I get up this morning and discover that we have a brief internet connection.  It's Monday morning.  We boarded the boat on Friday evening.  Since then we have become acquainted with the other 18 passengers (which are comprised of two large families).  We have spotted over 20 whales (two of them were so close to the boat we heard them surface before we turned around and saw them).  We saw a magnificent glacier with icebergs all around the area and on many of the icebergs were seals and their baby cubs. While we were at the glacier it calved (meaning a part of it fell off into the water..it sounded like thunder and the waves rocked our skiff boat). Yesterday Tom and I kayaked around a cove with a spectacular waterfall and we even managed a hike in the afternoon.  Also, anyone who dared could "take the Polar plunge", which means we could jump off the boat into the freezing water.  About six people did...including me.  I thought I was going to get a free t-shirt (but no such luck).  It was refreshing and absolutely, shockingly cold.  My body felt covered in pins and needles.  Tom took pictures, but now tells me the memory card wasn't in the camera, so we have no hard evidence.  He thinks I'm going to recreate the moment, but I'm thinking he should take the plunge next time there is an opportunity. 

Seals on Iceberg

Our boat in front of a glacier

Cove with hundreds of sea lions

Whale sighting (the elusive "whale tail" photo op everyone on board is seeking)

Selfie

Tom hates "selfies"...he doesn't even like the word.  But, I coax him into one during one of our many small planes rides.  Just a note to all, we are in Anchorage tonight, flying to Juneau in the morning to board a boat for some whale watching.  There is no internet access and limited cell phone coverage, so this may be the last of our blog until we return to Juneau on Friday, June 20th.  Maybe that is why they call Alaska the final frontier.  We managed to have cell phones and internet in Africa, but apparently not in the 49th state.  

On a personal note:  Zach, Tiff:  love you two so much and I really miss my baby girl.  Dad:  we will be on the boat Sunday without phone access so I'm wishing you a happy Father's Day.  You always encouraged me to be so adventurous...thank you for that.  You would absolutely love Alaska.  Love you, your FAVORITE daughter!

A Bus, a Bear and a Mountain

Wednesday was a full day...full of misery, full of adventure, and full of wonder.  We begin with misery which is spelled b-u-s.  We promptly arrived at the designated pick-up spot at 6:20 am to board a bus for a 6-hour journey covering 92 miles into the heart of Denali National Park.  Why take a bus to the interior of the park when we had a perfectly good rental car?  Because, unless you win a lottery for a special end-of-season permit, via tour bus this is the only way allowed.  Our particular bus was 40 minutes late as we were standing outside in 30 degree temperature.  It arrives and we board.  And, please, don't picture in your mind one of those spacious, comfy tour buses with wifi.  This was a school bus, and the heater was broken and remained that way until the last ten minutes of our journey.  We put on all the extra layers of clothing we had and still were frozen and miserable the entire time.  Two-thirds of the way in and it started snowing...hard.  Our bus driver was so fascinated with the snow, I leaned over and said to Tom, "he sounds like he's from Florida, not Alaska".  Five minutes later we learn a few facts that we'd rather not know (as the snow is starting to accumulate):  1) Our bus driver IS from Florida, 2) He's new, this tour is only his third one and he's never seen snow like this in the park 3) The bus does not have a radio and 4) the driver continues to point out that the 900-foot drop along the one-lane gravel road is the steepest in the park (I kind of liked that fact, but Tom didn't).  It was a miserable ride, yet Tom and I were still were encouraged....by the fact that Tom in his meticulous planning of our trip (as he does every trip we take) had the foresight to know that we would not want to ride a b-u-s another six hours out of the park, so he had arranged for a small plane to meet us at the backcountry lodge (the turn around point) and fly us home.  That is, we were encouraged until it started snowing so hard, we knew that no plane would be flying in this weather.  Misery.

Less than 10 feet from the bear

Onto the adventure portion.  We did see some wildlife: sheep, a couple herds of caribou, another moose and a bear.  During the snowstorm, we came across a bear on the side of the road.  As much as I disliked the bus, the driver did manage to stop the bus with the grizzly right below my window.  I immediately opened the window as far as it would go and I leaned out as far as possible, thinking Tom would surely grab my feet if I started to fall out.  I was only ten feet (at most) from the bear...it was amazing. And all the while, the bear stayed right in front of me foraging for food and looking around.  If some of the pictures look a little blurry, that's just the enormous snowflakes that pelted me the entire time I was halfway out the window.  When I finally got back in the bus I was soaked (and even colder) but also exhilarated from it all.  I think the other passengers on the bus looked at me with alarm when I finally pulled myself back in, but I didn't care, I was still hoping not to be sharing the trip back with them. 

 
Now to the wonder portion.  Just as we pull into the lodge, the sun comes out and we see blue skies, we can fly back after all.  After lunch and a little hiking, Tom and I board the plane along with another couple who also decided that a 6-hour bus trip back was too much.  The pilot asks if we want to see any sights along the way and Tom immediately says "Mt. Denali" and off we go. Mt. Denali/McKinley is a very big mountain, but also very elusive.  It is often hidden amongst the clouds and bad weather.  But today we were blessed.  Our pilot flew us to the mountain and, voila, there it was looking very majestic.  We flew around the mountain for quite a while, banking left and then right, all the while our pilot saying, "we can get closer"...and he did.  I'm afraid some of my pictures didn't turn out so well because we were so close.  It was spectacular.  When we got back to the lodge later that night, we cancelled our morning flyover knowing that the touring planes would never get so close and stay so long.  We were so fortunate to see the mountain in this glorious fashion.  

Moose Highway

Tom's View Part 3

Today started great!  Driving along the highway and Sandy is commenting how she thought the moose should be a bit more "apparent".  Then, while I'm at 55 miles an hour, she yells out: "Moose!"  I dutifully slam on the brakes while she rants on about this moose taking a bath in a pond down below the highway.  Of course, in slamming on the brakes the car stalls and we're in the middle of the road with a car coming at us.  Now, one would think Sandy was concerned about all this - but she's still yelling out: "I saw a moose!  I saw a moose!"  Fortunately the car starts, I back up, and Sandy takes pictures.

Our plane ride was interesting, but short-lived.  We heard a bit about Chris McCandless - the nare-do-well who died a week before moose hunters happened by his bus.  But the clouds are everywhere, so eventually we head back.

That sends us to Denali National Park.  It is 6,000,000 acres big, but you can only drive a car 15 miles on the only road in the park.  So we stop and take a hike along a stream - but with families and kids in front and back, we're not holding our breath for anything like a bear or a moose.  So we head back to the start and take a hike to some pond.  Coming out, I (yes, finally "I" get to spot something) see a moose heading into the woods across the street.  And in the words of Chris McCandless, it is then that we go "Into the Wild".

There's a road on one side and railroad tracks on the other.  We hit the road and follow the moose into the woods.  Sandy then goes around the woods and I continue through.  I get to the railroad  tracks just in time to see the moose go into the woods on the other side.  So we decide to "head it off at the pass".  We enter the woods and find Moose Highway.  How do we know?  Because a careful moose tracker can see the telltale signs, that is - if said tracker doesn't step in it (if you know what I mean).

So we decide to wait on Moose Highway to see if said moose passes by.  Indeed, I look at Sandy and she is waiving frantically at me - which I figured out meant that the moose was 50 feet behind me.  She just wants me to get out of her camera view.  The moose keeps going toward the road, and we get out just in time to watch him cross the road and stick his head into the woods on the opposite side - like we can't see the moose butt sticking out!












 Anyway, he's gone now and Sandy wants to go back to Moose Highway and wait for the next one to happen by.  I confidently tell her that that is silly - it's not really a highway.  We go and of course, then along comes a "sow" (Mom) and her two kids.  So we track them back to the railroad tracks and then cut through the woods to the next road, and there they are again, looking straight at us.  We must really be a pain in the side to these mooses (technical term meaning many moose).

Back when we were on Moose Highway, I told Sandy that if another moose came along after the first one, then we should become moose hunters.  (I really did!)  Then along comes mom and kids.  In the future, please contact us at MooseHuntersAreUs.com, or call 1-800-EatMoose.

 

Moose

This morning we left early to fly over Mt. McKinley.  On the way to the airstrip we spotted a moose having an early morning bath in a pond just off the road.  We stopped and interrupted his morning ritual to take a few pics.

We had a very pleasant flight, unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we didn't make it all the way to McKinley.  We will try again Thursday.

So, we spent the day in Denali National Park.  After hiking a few trails, Tom spots a moose and the adventure begins.  Following are some pix from our hunt, later Tom will provide the narration.

Tom's View - Part 2

Sandy tells me that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well then, the last posting of pictures is worth many thousands.  One would think that is enough, but being a lawyer . . . well, enough said!  Here are a few more words.

Da Bears are amazing animals.  We watched them interact, and it was great fun.  At first, there were two bears both grazing in the grass and gradually getting closer.  Finally, one started running at the other one, who ran away.  Then they both stopped, and the "lead" bear stopped with this pose like: "Here I am, you done or not?"  Looking back all the time.  They played cat and mouse for a while, and finally the pursuer turned and went the other way, and the bear in front dropped to the ground, apparently exhausted from having run a good 30-40 yards.  Life is good on the "tundra" when all you do is eat and wait for the salmon run, when you eat even more.

Our cabbie, Joey, tells us that spring bears are pretty skinny but better tasting (really, they eat bears here?), but fall bears are not as good tasting but fatter.  If 30 yards of running wears you out, I'm thinking by fall you are going to be pretty plump.

Speaking of Joey, we learned that you can sign up for a lot of quotas here.  Two bears a year, a "sow" (female bear) every other year, etc.  Oh, and best of all - you can sign up for the "Road Kill" list.  He says that when it's your turn, they call you and whatever is "on the road" is yours.  But whatever, you have to clean it up.  Gee, where do I sign up?