ALASKA - McKINLEY AND TRAIN RIDE

At McKinley Princess Lodge, we saw a large number of pine trees that appeared to be dead, especially on our trip into the little town of Talkeetna.  The bus driver told us that a beetle which is native to Alaska re-emerged over the last few years because the winters were not cold enough to kill them off.  The beetle burrows into the base of the pine and starts sucking the nutrients out resulting in the pine tree dying.

This is what the pine tree looks like.  There are thousands of dead ones around.

Tuesday (26th) was one of the nice days.  After we returned from Talkeetna, we were fortunate and excited to see a teensy bit of Denali mountain which later became fantastic.

That frothy little sliver in the middle of the picture is Denali teasing us.

That frothy little sliver turned into this majestic creature making all the rain we endured worthwhile.  We are now among the 30% to see Denali mountain.  Whoo Hoo!

Picture taken at 10:30 p.m.  I had to hide behind the tree because the sun was so bright.

This is Denali mountain at 10:30 at night.  I took this to show how bright the sun was.

Look who greeted us the next morning before we left to board the train!

We couldn't believe our good fortune!

We were driven to Talkeetna to board the train for our trip to Whittier.  The trip is about 175 miles but  it took us over five hours to get there.

This is the train which took us to Whittier.

The weather turned very gray and rainy while we were on the train.

Mountains and ocean (or it may be Turnagain Arm...yes, that's the name of the body of water).

That small bluish bit just below the snow is part of a glacier.

Water streaming down from the melting snow and glaciers.

Mountains, Turnagain Arm and silt.  It's incredible how much silt comes down from the mountains.

We came to the end of our very long train ride and finally boarded the ship around 7:15 p.m.  We will cruise for the next two days before getting to our first port of Skagway.

ALASKA - DENALI AND McKINLEY

We left Fairbanks on Saturday and headed for Denali where we were booked to go on the Denali Natural History tour the next day.  Denali National Park (formerly McKinley National Park) was established in 1917 originally covering an area of two million acres.  The primary purpose was to protect the Dall Sheep which lived at the top of the mountain.  It was expanded in 1980 to six million acres and protected all animals living there.  Denali mountain is just over 20,000 ft but is hardly ever seen because of weather conditions....apparently only seen by about 30% of visitors to the park.  On the day we took the tour, the weather was very overcast and very cool and we did not see Denali mountain.

Picture taken at a stop on our way to Denali.  There is a lake (blue area) just past the trees.

We spotted an Alaska Railroad train from the bus.

Picture taken from the grounds of the Denali Princess Lodge.

The tour of Denali National Park consisted of driving around in a school bus, making two stops for history talks, and looking for wildlife while being given information by the guide on the park, wildlife and vegetation.  Our first stop was at Savage Cabin and our second stop was to hear a talk by an Athabascan Indian on how the Athabascans preserved their culture, including their language and survival.

The inside of Savage cabin in the park.  The cabin was used by employees of the park.

A Hawk Owl sitting atop a pine tree.

Picture of the mountains taken in the park.

One of many peninsulas/islands in the rivers formed as a result of silt from glaciers and snow from the mountains.  Excuse the bus window reflection.

Another owl whose name was not know.

Another picture of the mountains showing the unmelted snow.

Bronze Dall Sheep (which are actually white in colour) statues on the grounds of the McKinley Princess Lodge.

Vegetation growing out of the asphalt on the grounds of McKinley Princess Lodge.

Rides are offered in this covered wagon for a small price.

Many people live on land that has no running water.  These homes are called 'Dry Homes'.  The government offers free showers in some cities but in the smaller towns, the residents have to pay for showers.  

This is a sign in a restaurant in Talkeetna offering paid showers as well as lodging.

Wannabe Musher (dog sled racer)

My friend riding the moose - one of many bronze animal statues on the grounds of the lodges.

Taken at a treehouse on the grounds of the McKinley Princess Lodge.  The treehouse was really not a traditional treehouse but rather, one that was built on think planks high on a hill among the trees.

Tomorrow, we leave McKinley Princess Lodge and take the domed train to Whittier to board the ship.  Although it's only about 175 miles, the train trip will take over five hours.  Interesting!

ALASKA - FAIRBANKS

This is a trip that has been on my bucket list for quite a while and it feels good to be doing it now.  We flew from Toronto to Fairbanks via Chicago on June 21 (very long trip) for a thirteen day stay - 6 days land and 7 days cruising and arrived on the Summer Solstice - Alaska's 24 hour daylight......and it was warm.  Great start to the trip!  Alaska is four hours behind Eastern time and it was the wee hours of the morning by the time we got to bed.

We were scheduled for an all day tour on Friday consisting of two parts.  The morning was aboard a Riverboat and unfortunately, the day (weather-wise) was nothing like the day before...it was raining and cool.  Putting on a brave face, we boarded the Sternwheeler III and set sail along the Cheena river.  This is a really slick operation where the narrator/commentator speaks to the participants ashore or on the river.  All of the conversations are audible for us to hear.

Ready to board the Sternwheeler III.

We were given a demonstration of a seaplane taking off and landing.  This is really neat to observe first hand.

Our next encounter was with the owner/trainer/racer of dogs in the Iditarod.  Tekla Monson is the daughter of the late Susan Butcher, a multi-champion of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Races.  Tekla raises and trains the dogs.  The motor has been removed from an ATV and the ATV is hooked up to the dogs for training.  Tekla gave a demonstration by steering the ATV while the dogs were pulling it.  It was amazing to see how fast they were.  When they were unhooked, they ran into the very cold river to cool off.

Unhooking the dogs from the motionless ATV.

The dogs frolicking in the river after their run.

Tekla and her crew with some of the puppies.

Along the way, we were fortunate to see a few Caribou grazing.

Next, we saw and heard a young lady from the Athabascan Native Indians preparing lesser quality salmon as food for dogs.  The heads of the salmon are cut off, the salmon is filleted and air dried before being put in the smokehouse.  Every part of the salmon and any other animals killed is used by the Athabascans, either as food, clothing or fodder for dogs.  Better quality salmon is soaked in a brine before being smoked.  The heads of the better quality salmon are used to make fish soup for the elders.

Salmon about to be filleted.

Salmon fillets being air-dried.

Fishing wheel used to catch fish.

We then stopped at a 'museum village' where we learned about the Athabascans' way of life.  The next few pictures are from that village.

The cabin has a type of weed planted on the roof to help 'seal' it.

This cabin is built on stilts to hide things of value and keep them off the ground.

Skins of animals being dried.

This is a 'princess' outfit made from animal skins.

Back of the outfit.

One of the nicer homes along the Cheena river.

In the afternoon, we visited the Trans Alaska Pipeline and a gold dredge.  The Pipeline is about 800 miles long - roughly half built above ground and half below.  Aleyska company is contracted to maintain the Pipeline.  Sixty-five percent of the Alaska government's revenue comes from the Pipeline.  The government pays an annual dividend to the residents ranging from a low of $300 to a high of $2,200. This year's dividend has been established at $1,600 per resident.

The Pipeline is built to withstand permafrost and survive earthquakes.

Finally, we took a replica railway to Goldstream Dredge No. 8 where we saw some of the old equipment used and had the opportunity to pan for gold.

The front of the Dredge.

The back of the dredge.

A 'volunteer' operating a piece of the equipment.

Panning for gold.....yes, I did find a few flecks, as did my friend.

Some pelts for sale in one of the souvenir shops.

And so we came to the end of our full, tiring day in Fairbanks, a bit more knowledgeable about some of Alaska's history.