Blogs from Denali, Alaska, United States, North America - page 3

Ketchikan JEWELLERY STORES!!!! Industrial quantities. In 1993 cruise ships started coming in large numbers to Alaska. Fishing villages and mining towns and administrative centres suddenly had up to 10,000 people in town on the one day. The cruise lines set up jewellery stores and souvenir shops in these towns. The tourist season goes from May – September. At the end of September the jewellery stores pack up and transfer to the Caribbean where the cruise ships ply their (northern) winter trade. Alaska shuts down between October and May, college students and mavericks such as Brian, our driver yesterday (retired civil engineer from Atlanta, single, adventurer, spends winter in Breckenridge driving people to Denver airport), come up here and live for 6 months and the towns shut down. In Ketchikan we had David, our Tlingit guide and ... read more

Today we have our first "bag pull". Bags out by 0800 with a 0845 bus board for an 0900 departure for Denali. All on board and seat rotation starts for those in the front half. Us naughty kids in the back had spread out in single seats and also rebelled and said no to the seat rotation..... We are meant to be in Denali by lunch time but there is quite a bit of roadworks on the way. We actually stop twice for over 15 - 30 mins each waiting for our turn to go. Lori (our bus driver) does a good job getting us through earlier by getting water and snacks for the stop go men. Seemed to work as we got waved through with pilot cars both times. Stopped at a little village called ... read more

Spent the afternoon outside the park. Drove about a mile outside of the park on the Parks Highway and had lunch at the Alaskan Fish and Chip shop. Good little business and the food was fresh and very tasty. Had a walk around the shops in the area and treated ourselves to some homemade fudge. Geoff also found a Harley Davidson store and got a pack of T shirts from all the Harley Davidson outlets in Alaska...he was happy! Went for a drive along the highway and saw some amazing scenery (we didn't think it could get any better but it does). Stopped to admire the views of the Nenana River and walked along a couple of trails to take in the scenery. We walked under the bridge and got some great shots. Later in the ... read more

We were able to book a last minute Kayaking trip at a nearby lake. Lake Byers is the largest lake in the Danali State Park which eventually connects to the Cook Inlet. Salmon do make their way up to the lake, but we found out that they are not yet running and a bit too early. When we got to the lake, we quickly suited up in waterproof pants and shoes. Since it wasn't raining, we didn't need ponchos or rain gear. Our tour guide Nate took us around the absolutely pristine lake. As you can see from the pictures, the lake was calm, very little rain, but quite cloudy. The great mountain was still hiding behind the heavy cloud cover. They say here if you do get to see it, you are part of the ... read more

Last thoughts of Denali....we met many individual people who travel independently..no relatives or friends..just come to Denali for a change in life. They found jobs for the extended summer and plan to winter somewhere else. Maybe the vastness of the area or the simple beauty of god's creation calls certain souls for the adventure. There is a feeling of simplicity here and general kindness. So many people just being kind... Our guide into Denali said its 2.5hours to grocery store one way..lol that is an adventure in itself. Lavern says he could handle it..I've trained him well. She has lived in Denali for 10 years and just got electricity 2 years ago..still no running water. What a woman!! It will take 8 hours by connection bus to get down to the small boat harbor in Seward, ... read more