2013 - My sister and her
family move from the somewhat far-away town of Boise, Idaho to the
even further away city of Anchorage, Alaska. Our initial thoughts
were “Sweet! What a cool place to live. We can't wait to visit.”
The Wandering Woodmans now had a reason to head to the 49th
state. We could head up there any time. We knew it was far, but we
could probably drive it, right? I mean we drove 24 hours straight
once. What is it...2...3...? 60. Hours. 62 to be exact. So, to break
it down, that's just five grueling 12 hour days. Each way.
No thanks.
 |
| Half Dozen of Another |
So, flying it was for our gang
this time. No big deal. A plane ticket to Alaska couldn't cost that much, right?
They don't. One plane ticket doesn't. One is quite reasonable,
actually. We total 6. And 6 of anything isn't cheap.
No problem, we said. We'll
just pick a date, save some money, and make a plan.
So, a couple of years go by,
and we finally accomplished the first task. We picked a date.
“Good enough,” we said.
And just like that, we were off.
To the land
of the midnight sun.
 |
| Hello, Drivers |
After saying hello to our
Alaska family, we set off on our first great Alaskan adventure:
Denali.
The National Park bearing it's name just
happens to be celebrating it's centennial this year.
So to honor that, here is our
Denali story.
By the numbers.
100 of them to be precise.
Which, once I finished this,
turned out to be way more than I imagined. Writing 100 of anything is
a lot. So, it's a long read. Be forewarned. But, like a true Alaskan,
just hunker down and bear with me...
► 20,301: feet
above sea level is the elevation of Denali, making it the
highest point in North America, and 3rd highest peak in
the world.
► 1896: The year a gold
prospector named the peak Mt. McKinley, after then presidential
nominee, William McKinley, because of his support for the gold
standard.
► 0: times McKinley
ever set foot in Alaska, let alone saw the peak bearing his name.
► 2015: The year the
peak was justly renamed Denali.
► 0: people not related
to McKinley, and not from Ohio (his home state) cared about the name
change. The locals have always called it Denali.
► 3: different
native translations of the word 'Denali' we saw written.
The Great One. The Tall
One. The High One. Whichever the translation, safe to say it's
pretty big.
► 30: percent of
travelers to Denali actually get to see the mountain at all. Because
of weather patterns and cloud cover, on most days the summit, and
often the whole mountain itself, are not visible. They snobbishly
call themselves The 30% Club.
 |
| Every stop along the way was like a postcard |
► 70: Percent of
travelers miss out on this beautiful, grand, snow-capped, once in a
lifetime experience. They do not joyfully refer to themselves as The
70% Club.
► 130: miles is the drive from Anchorage to Denali
► 4: hours
was all it took us to make the enjoyable and picturesque drive.
► 3: days we
spent, total, on our Denali adventure.
► 1: day
driving up, stopping along the way for views of the mountain.
► 15:
magnificent hours in the park on our second day.
► 1: day
driving back, stopping along the way for views.
 |
| Still looking... |
► 0: times
we saw the mountain.
At all.
Not once, even a little.
► 100:
percent chance we think being members of the 70 Percent Club sucks.
► 1: CD just
happened to be in the van we borrowed and drove up to the park. There
were scarcely any radio stations and no cell service once we left
Anchorage.
► 3: times
we listened to Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Volume 2. Which turned out
to be...
► 3: times
too many.
► 823: small
coffee shacks dot the side of the road on the drive. All shapes and
styles. Lots of coffee. Espresso... Americanos... Everywhere. At
least I think there were that many. I couldn't see very straight. Too
much coffee, I guess.
► 6 million:
acres is the size of Denali National Park. Or roughly...
► 9375:
square miles.
► 5: states
are smaller. Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, and New
Jersey
► 400,000:
people visit the park every year.
► 6: different languages we heard spoken by tourists among us that day.
Indian. Mandarin. Japanese. German, Austrian and French. The groups
were very multicultural.
► 4: months
the park is open to visitors. From mid May to mid September. That's
it.
► 1: way and only one way leads in. Denali Park Road winds through the park as it approaches
the mountain. It meanders and twists and turns for...
► 96: miles.
► 0: cars
are allowed to drive the entire way through Denali. In order to
preserve the wildness of the landscape, and avoid traffic nightmares
(we're looking at you, Yellowstone) the park has always been mostly
traffic free. Instead, there are only park-run buses that take you
into the park. They stop whenever wildlife is spotted, as well as
making scheduled stops.
► 8: hours
total we spent on said shuttle bus
► 0: times
we thought the park felt 'too crowded'. Even being crammed on a bus
full of people for 4 hour stretches didn't make us feel that way.
Perhaps it was the vastness of the park that made it feel uncrowded.
The place is the size of Switzerland, after all.
► 66: miles
into the park we rode, to the Eilson Ranger Station. Which was only...
► 33: miles
from the summit of Denali.
► 2: hikes
we went on while in the park. The first, was just a short...
 |
| The Summit Gang |
► 1: mile
trail. Straight up, this one mile. Apparently. To the top of
Thorofare Ridge. The trail took us...
► 1000: feet
up in elevation in just under that mile. Which is a lot. We know now.
► 6: of us
started the hike.
► 3: of us
completed the summit. In the rain. And wind. And cold. We persevered.
► 0: views
of Denali could be seen from the top of the ridge. In case you missed
my earlier point.
Whew!...
There. See? That went quick. Over a third of the way done already...
► 5: animals,
known as 'The Big Five' frequent the park. By no means the only
animals in the diverse and wild landscape, these are just the ones
that most people come to see. Bears. Moose. Caribou. Dall Sheep.
Wolves.
 |
| Mama grizzly and her cubs |
► 2: types
of bears inhabit the area. Black bears and Brown bears (grizzlies)
► 500-550: total
bears live in the park
► 14: bears
we saw that day in Denali. (all grizzlies)
► 10: of the
bears we viewed from the bus.
► 5: of them
were cubs. Freaking adorable!
► 3: bears
walked along a river gorge, a mama and her two cubs, as we descended
in to it on our second hike. We watched them the whole way from
above. By the time we got to the bottom, they were gone. But, once we
returned to the top, we noticed they had closed the trail we were
just on, due to 'dangerous bear activity'. Oops!
► 300: yards
is the recommended distance one should keep between you and a bear.
Bear encounters are no joke here in Alaska, and the anticipation of
running into one was never far from our minds. We fortunately (or
unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) never got closer than
that to any bears. Needless to say, we still carried...
► 2: cans of
Bear Spray (think really strong pepper spray) with us at all
times. It is only meant to be used as a last resort. Basically, as
the bear is getting ready to eat you. Then. The better strategy is to
make lots of noise at all times, so you don't sneak up on a bear.
They hate that.
► 200: times
the kiddos sang the same few Girl Scout camp songs. Loudly. Over and over and
over. So the bears could hear us coming.
► 0: other
situations exist when it is ever considered acceptable, outside of this one time, to encourage this kind of behavior. We not only encouraged it.
We sang along...Loudly... “One more time!!!”
► 1760:
total caribou live in the park. Usually in herds. Unlike most
animals, both the male and female caribou have antlers. Babies too.
► 24: caribou
we saw that day, including a bull with a super sweet rack of antlers.
► 86: wolves
occupy Denali National Park.
► 10: packs
of wolves, specifically. They are the most monitored and tracked
creatures there, and their numbers are closely watched.
► 0: wolves
we saw that day. Tough to see them when there's only 86 in 6 million
acres.
► 1,500:
moose reside inside the park's boundaries. They are the most
plentiful of the large mammals, not only in the park, but also
throughout all of Alaska. Basically, as common as seeing a deer in
Missouri. Really, not that big of a deal.
► 0: moose
were observed by us that day. Shockingly.
► 1,700: Dall
sheep live up high throughout the park. Usually on cliffs or ridges.
They loom above, high enough to keep away from the numerous predators below.
► 3: Dall
sheep we witnessed from the bus. At first they just looked like
little white dots on the cliffs, but once viewed through binoculars,
we could make out their signature curled horns.
► 2: sets of
binoculars we had with us that day.
► 6: sets of
binoculars was the correct number we should have had with us that
day.
► 55: mm
lens is the longest our camera is capable of shooting with.
► 300: mm
lens would probably be the minimum needed to get close up pictures of
some of the wildlife.
► 0: percent
chance we were gonna tote around one of those giant zoom lenses. We
saw several people who did. No thanks. Wide shots are just fine by
us.
► 39: total
species of mammals call Denali home. Not just 'The Big 5'. We got to
see a plethora of them throughout the day. Tons of adorable Arctic
ground squirrels. So cute, they make me hate Missouri squirrels even
more than I already do. Which is a ton. I really hate those guys.
They suck. We also saw an even more adorable Pika (think tiny
rabbit/mouse) scampering along the side of the road.
► 160: total
species of birds live in Denali.
► 2: flocks
of Ptarmigans walked along the road during our drive. These fat,
furry chicken-looking creatures are also Alaska's state bird.
► 1: magpie
walked along with us for several minutes during one of our hikes,
squawking and yelling at us the whole time.
► 3: people
in our group already squawk enough for the whole group. Thanks,
magpie.
► 0: species
of reptiles live in the park (or in all of Alaska for that matter).
It's too damn cold.
► 1: species
of amphibians manages to survive in Denali (and also all of Alaska
for that matter). The wood frog has adapted to the cold winters by
figuring out a way to go into a deep cryogenic state. When it gets
cold, the frog changes the chemistry of it's blood, and then
literally freezes solid for the whole winter. It then thaws itself
out when spring rolls around, and is good to go. Weird, right?
► 0: ticks.
Anywhere.
► 0: mosquito
bites. For us.
► 2: huge
points for Alaska, coming from a family that lives at the
intersection of Tick Avenue and Mosquito Drive.
► 65: degrees Fahrenheit was
never reached our entire excursion. It never even got close to that.
It also never got colder than...
► 48: degrees Fahrenheit.
That didn't mean the weather was perfect, however. Far from it.
► 4: layers of clothes we
wore that day. Everyone. Minimum. Short sleeves. Long sleeves.
Jackets. Rain gear. All were critical.
► 253: number of times we
took our clothes off, put our clothes on, took clothes our off, put
our clothes on... The weather changes frequently and drastically.
It's hot. Its cold. It's wet. It's curiously all of these things at
once sometimes. We had to be ready.
► 1: National Park in all
the United States has a working dog sled team as part of its crew.
► 35: sled dogs are
living and working in Denali National Park right now. We stopped at
their kennel to get some dog loving time in, and watch a
demonstration of what they do.
 |
| Ain't no party like a dog sled party |
|
► 25-50: miles a day the
dogs will travel, in the winter, pulling a sled, and doing
valuable work throughout the park. These sled dogs are more than just
a show for us tourists. They have played a critical role in the
history of the park, and continue to do so today.
► 3: percent excited was all
the dogs got when visitors walked around and petted them.
► 100: percent excited the
dogs got once the rangers got the sled out for the demo. They clearly
loved to work. Or hated us. Both reasonable.
► 2: nights we spent at our
nearby accommodations, the Grizzly Bear Lodge (a last minute score!)
which overlooked the Nenana River.
► 1: giant pile of moose
scat lie underneath our balcony. It was probably just a typical sized
pile, but it sure looked big. Side note: scat is a super fun way to
say 'poop'.
► 0: moose were spotted from
our lodge balcony.
► 10: o'clock at night, with
the kids asleep, I sat on that balcony, and started watching the sun
set. The sky was orange. The light was perfect.
► 12: midnight.
► 2: hours later. I'm still
up. Still on the balcony. The sky is still orange. The sun, is
somehow, still setting. Only now it's further along the horizon. The
light is also somehow still perfect. Longest. Sunset. Ever. I finally go to bed.
► 2: food trucks were parked
at the lodge grounds: a Thai food one and a Mexican food one.
► 100: percent of our meals
came from those two trucks during our stay. Two of our favorite types of food, and
as a bonus we got to introduce Haley to Thai food. She loved it!
► 1: place we actually stopped and had a real sit down meal. On the return drive to Anchorage.
The waitress immediately informed us the kitchen was out of...
► 3: items on the menu.
Nope, make that...
► 4: items. OK, are we ready
to order? Hang on. Now there are
► 5: items the kitchen is
out of. Ready? OK thanks. <5 minutes later> Oh that thing you just
ordered? Guess what? It's now the number...
► 6: item we are out of.
► 8: swirls of soft serve was
the maximum number you could get at the ice cream place next door. A
mandatory stop, so I was told. Which, as it turns out, 8 was the
perfect number for me.
 |
| There it is, or rather, there it should be. |
► 3: more times we stopped
at alleged 'scenic views' to maybe, just maybe, crawl out of the
lowly, commoner stink of being a 70 Percenter.
► 0: views. Once again. For
those of you that are just skipping around and not really seeing this
thing all the way through.
► 100: percent chance that you
will fall in love with this majestic, amazing place. We sure did. Even if you are destined to be just an ordinary 70% member, it's OK. Embrace it. We are coming to terms with it. And yet we still managed to love Denali anyways.
Thanks for hanging in there till the end.
I guess it could've been worse. At least it wasn't their bicentennial.
► 300: yards
is the recommended distance one should keep between you and a bear.
Bear encounters are no joke here in Alaska, and the anticipation of
running into one was never far from our minds. We fortunately (or
unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) never got closer than
that to any bears. Needless to say, we still carried... 
► 1,500:
moose reside inside the park's boundaries. They are the most
plentiful of the large mammals, not only in the park, but also
throughout all of Alaska. Basically, as common as seeing a deer in
Missouri. Really, not that big of a deal. 
After the initial creep out factor, we settled into Savannah and began to appreciate it for what it is, a beautiful, and very accessible town. Not only was it easy to get around, but with over 20 town squares and beautiful homes everywhere you look, there was plenty to see. The evergreen live oak with their drooping, curvaceous branches, draped in Spanish moss added yet another bit of Southern quality to Savannah's charm.
On our second day we met up with our friends the Kasparek family, who coincidentally happen to be swinging through town. This time another historical walking tour, only with out all the creepy stories.
