End of the Road

Rob, Jack, Erin & Heidi

Mile Marker 1422 at the end of the Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway extends 1422 miles from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska.  The Alaska Highway, or better known as the Alcan, was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada.  Unlike the famous Route 66 in the lower 48, most of which has been abandoned or bi-passed in favor the super-highway system of the Interstate, the Alcan Highway is still a viable ground transportation system in use today. 

However, rerouting in Canada has shortened the highway by approximately 35 miles since 1947, mostly by eliminating winding sections and sometimes by bypassing residential areas. Therefore, the historic milepost markings are no longer accurate but are still important locally as location references. 

Officially, the Alaska Highway ends in Delta Junction, at mile marker 1422, as noted in the picture above.  As all good things must come to an end, our Alaska Vacation is also nearing the “end of the road”.  I do not know where the time has gone, or why it goes by so fast when you are having fun?  We have seen so much, and yet only scratched the surface to the great Alaska Wilderness. 

White capped Alaska Range Mountains

More Denali Splender

We have experienced a lot of quality time with friends & family, and taken in as much of Alaska as we could.  We have had new experiences, continued some old traditions and viewed some breathtaking landscapes that only a place like Alaska can offer.

Rob, Erin, Jack, Bumpa & Nana

Celebrating our Anniversary in Fairbanks

But surely the best part of the trip has been to hold and love our new grandson, “Kodiak” Jack.  He can already call me, “Bumpa” and we are working on “Nana”, before we leave in a few days.   

At nearly a year old; Jack is already determined and confident in taking on the world.  Growing up in Alaska is no place for a shy boy and Jack shows every bit the kind of kid that will not let much grass grow under his feet or take “No” for an answer.  For him and his folks, this is not the “end of the road”, but the beginning of a journey!  We are looking forward to being a part of that trip!

The Gang in Denali

"Kodiak" Jack & his Dad Rob

It’s a Small, Small World

Whenever we travel, I’m always amazed by the people you bump into on the trip that you might know or who might know someone you know.  I like people watching and vacations are one of the best times to do this activity.   I always have an eye open to what people are wearing and an ear open to what they are saying.  Both of these activities will typically result in finding people, who know people, you know; regardless of where you are in the world.

Jude, Mike, Heidi & Rob

While here in Alaska we had the opportunity to meet up with my former neighbors from Owosso, Michigan, Rob & Jude Johnson.  They moved from Michigan to Alaska, when Rob retired from teaching high school science back in 2006.  They now make their home near Wasilla and work for Princess Cruise Lines on the land portion of an Alaskan Cruise.  We had a wonderful time catching up on each of our lives since Michigan.  The Johnsons’ have always been fun to be around and always have great stories to tell about their experiences.  Plus, they always seem to be involved in the center of activities that are eventful.  Never a dull moment when you are around the Johnsons!  Like the role they are now taking in Alaska being associated with the Iditarod.  We are now considering a trip to Alaska in March 2012, to volunteer with Rob & Jude, for the start of the Iditarod Race and to explore Anchorage and the southern region of Alaska.

We met at Denali National Park and stayed 2 days at the Princess Denali Wilderness Lodge.   Denali National Park was established in 1917 and covers 6 million acres.  That is 9,492 square miles!  Located in Alaska’s interior, the park contains Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America at an elevation of 20,156 feet above sea level.  The Alaska Range Mountains extend through the entire park, providing breathtaking views and interesting ecosystems including tundra and active glacier regions.  Denali is visited by nearly 1.2 million tourists each year and the park is open May to September.  Wild life includes grizzly & black bear, caribou, dall sheep, moose.  You are almost guaranteed to see wildlife! 

 

How about this moose and her calf walking right past us on our tour!

Rob & Jude, through their Iditarod volunteer work, were familiar with Jeff King, the “Winningest Musher in the World!  (www.huskyhomestead.com)  A 4 time winner of the Alaska Iditarod, in the off season he breeds, raises and trains Alaskan Huskies from his home at Denali.  So, we took the Goose Lake Kennel Tour for an absolutely fascinating 3 hour experience to hold Husky Pups, see them in training and learn more about the sport of mushing, Alaska style.

Heidi & I holding future Iditarod Winner - Porkchop!

In this huge national park on our tour, “Michigan” was somehow mentioned.  Again, my ears pick up.  One of Jeff King’s young trainers tells me that she is from Bellaire, Michigan!  She knows my sister Nancy and hung out with my nephew Jeff.  Her name is Carrie, and she is going back to visit Michigan this fall.  To come so far and to find people so closely connected.  This truly is a small world!

 Me with Carrie from Bellaire, Michigan

What do you do…when there is notin’ to do?

OK, so I knew what to expect on this trip to Alaska, having traveled here nearly 2 years ago.  I tried to prepare Heidi on what to expect.  “What, the mall is 90 miles away?  How do you buy what you need?”  Typical girls’ response to living in the wild! 

“Well, dear, there is the PX on post and an IGA in town”, I told her.  This is not a shopper’s paradise; by any stretch of the imagination.  But you know what?   She has found out, that even doing nothing can be exhausting.  There are the spectacular views of the whitecaps of the Alaska Range Mountains, and the pure Alaska air makes you sleep like a baby, even though the sun never sets this time of year.  More on that later!  We can go on the quad runner for miles and miles and not see a sole.  A simple walk around the block of Rob & Erin’s neighborhood is a mile trek, some of which is through a wilderness trail to get fully around the “block”.   

We have forgotten what it was like to have a baby around the house.   We are getting to know our nearly 1 year old grandchild, I call him “Kodiak Jack”, his Mother would prefer I just call him Jack!  Either way, he is a livewire, and we love the little cutie dearly! 

You have to eat!  So we spent an entire day making one of Rob’s favorite childhood meals, meatloaf & scalloped potatoes.  All day to prepare, 12 minutes to devour!  Oh, and there is wood to stack.  Seems there is a pile of wood in everyone’s yard here in Alaska.  With home heating oil priced at over $4 a gallon, and in the dead of winter they use between 100 – 150 gallons a month to heat the house; it makes sense to supplement the home heating with a wood burning stove in the living room. My back is killing me, and I estimated that we still have another 7 trailer loads to stack so they can get through the first part of this coming winter!   

We visited Donnelly Dome in the evening.  Wild life galore and the Aleyaska Pipeline stretches right through it.  A good chance for us to get a perspective of the size of the pipeline, and to see it up front and personal, along wild bison and moose with babies, along the way!  The beauty of nature in this wilderness is impressive!   

And, back to that “daylight a nighttime” thing.  Now that takes some getting used to!  At midnight, your body says “go to bed!” …your mind says, “You can have another drink before the sun goes down!”   

Wow, we have done so much on our Alaska Trip already, and our time has just begun.  What to do next?  I might need to have another drink and think about it!

Escape the Warmth!

Looking to escape these Arizona temperatures, but not before experiencing the hottest day of 2011 here today, at 110 degrees. OK, let me get this out first...."but, it's a dry heat!" Some say, "If I hear this again; road rage may strike!" For me, I've come to think that 110 isn't really hot, it just isn't right for sitting outside under the patio cover and having a cold adult beverage. I might call today "warm".

We endure the heat of summer in order to never have to shovel any sunshine during the winter. In fact, from November to June, the weather here is pretty enjoyable in the "Valley of the Sun" of Phoenix, Arizona. We have had a very remarkable spring, with cool evenings and mornings and daily temps that are comfortable. Maybe I'm just getting used to the climate here, after all I'm going on 3 years living in Arizona and that almost makes me a native by Arizona residence standards, as nearly everyone here is from "somewhere else".

So now I am staring down this vacation to Alaska in the face, and all of a sudden this 110 degree day seems intense! ...and on Friday, when we arrive in Fairbanks, Alaska, late in the evening, it will still be daylight but the temperature could be 60 degrees colder than today's high! 60 degrees than what I am calling today a "warm" day. Eeeks! Can that be true? Close your eyes, tap your heals together 3 times, and repeat after me..."there's no place like home! No place like home! No place like...."

Mike wake up, it's time to get going to the airport! "Wow, Auntie 'Em, I had a dream that I was in the middle of the 7th largest city in the country and the temp was 110 degrees. Then suddenly, I was in the wilderness of Alaska, and I was cold!" She smiles at me and blurts out in that bold demeanor, that only a crazed aunt can, and says,  "That's not a dream you idiot, it's real!  You better take your fleece and wear it on your trip, or you might catch a death of pneumonia!"

Do I need to pack my ear muffs & hand warmer too? 

Countdown...4 days until Alaska

Countdown...4 days to Alaska. Although Heidi has been packing for nearly 1 month now, I have officially started putting things in a bag effective today! We are leaving town just in time, as this week the weather forecast here in Arizona is triple digits in the low 100's.  I'm still taking my Columbia Fleece to Alaska, as we will experience a 40 degree colder temperature variation up there. Also making arrangements to see Rob & Jude Johnson while up there.  At this writing, we are expected to meet at Denali and spend a couple of days together. 

Are you sure today is only Monday? My mind keeps wondering into vacation mode!