July 8, 2009 Flight around Denali National Park and Mt. McKinley

This morning we got up early and went for a flight over Denali National Park. I took this picture from about 12 miles from the mountain. This was the best thing we have accomplished since we got here. The smoke from the fires in the north west end of the park was up to 7000 feet. It just makes it so hazy that you can't see the mountains in the distance. Once we were up in the air we could see pretty good. We were flying at 12000 when we got near (10 miles) Mt. McKinley and it looked like we could go over it. It was hard to believe that the mountain was still over 2 miles higher than we were. There were some Caribou on one of the Glaciers and we could see foot prints from some climbers from the day before.

The pilot has lived here 48 years and knows every mountain and glacier by name. Very good flight (75 minutes). I'm the one on the right.

The other lady in the pic works at the park desk for the summer. We asked her if she knew anyone who could share the flight. The price is for 3 people. She always wanted to go so we all went at 8:00 am.

After the flight we packed up and left for Wasilla. Yea!!! We found Sarah Palin's house and drove by. We found a nice camp called the Big Bear campground. Tomorrow we will head for Homer down on the tip of the Kenai Penninsula.

July 7, 2009 Cantwell rv park near Denali

Just to catch up. We stayed 3 nights in Eielson AFB campground about 20 miles south of Fairbanks. June 30, July 1,2. I used the base auto shop to change the oil on the truck and the next day I fixed the broken down closet.
July 3,4,5,6---We moved to a park closer to Fairbanks for the 4th of July weekend. We went to the college botanical gardens and museum one day, and the next day we drove to Denali for the day. The smoke is bad from the wild fires about 100 miles southwest of Fairbanks. Couldn't see much. Drove north of Fairbanks and saw the Alaskan Oil Pipeling where it goes along next to the highway. Monday I took the truck to the chevy dealer to fix the small oil leak.
Left this morning Tuesday July 7, and stopped in Cantwell which is about 20 miles south of Denali. Still can't see Mount McKinley. The fires are still burning. There are 61 fires going in Alaska right now. Tomorrow we are going flightseeing around Denali National park and nearby mountains. This has got to be cool. We needed a third person to go with us for the flight and the lady at the desk here at the camp said she would go. I got a one day fishing license and went fishing in the creeks over in the mountains. The Denali Highway starts here and goes 135 miles east to Paxton. We drove in 20 miles and came back. Rough gravel and dust. Beautiful scenery of the mountains and the Nenana river. I got a couple Grayling. There are a lot of them here. I don't have the right tackle. Need fly fishing stuff. Heading to Anchorage area tomorrow the 8th.

June 29, 2009

6/29- Left Destruction bay for Delta Junction, ALASKA. Arrived the Great State of Alaska at 12:58 PM on June 29, 2009. No animal sitings today. This was the trip from hell. The Alaskan Highway from Whitehorse to the Alaskan border is terrible. . The frost heaves and rips it apart to no end. Rocking and rolling so bad I had to almost stop. I drove about 30mph or less for about 4 hours or my springs would have been broke like the Bighorn at Jakes yesterday. Arrived at Smith’s Green Acres rv park. Nice place with everything even a place to wash the truck and trailer tomorrow. They are covered with mud from the Canadian side. They fix 6 or 7 miles at a time and we have to drive right through it. It’s either mud or “Extremely dusty” That’s off the sign.
Tomorrow we drive only 100 miles to Fairbanks. We’re going to try to get into Eielson AFB rv park. There is also a park in Fairbanks that is on a long narrow lake and the float planes come and go right in front of the park. Might try that one for a day or so.

June 28, 2009 Continental Divide to Destruction Bay

/28- Left Swift River Continental divide rv park going to Cottonwood rv park in Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory.
On the way we stopped for fuel at Jakes Corner. Well Jake insisted on filling my external tank which distracted me because when I do it myself I have a routine. Anyway, I opened the tail gate to get something and forgot to shut it. 10 qts of transmission fluid $6.50 each, that were in a milk crate, and half a case of bottled water were gone when we stopped at Whitehorse for lunch. It’s all Jack’s fault.
While at Jakes in the parking lot,(dirt) was a Bighorn 5th wheel all jacked up on all four corners with people working on the axels and springs. I ask Jake what happened. He said the man broke 3 springs and bent the fourth. Now I know why--- The Alaskan Highway from Whitehorse to the Alaskan border is terrible. The frost heaves and rips it apart to no end. I drove about 30mph or less for about 4 hours or my springs would have been broke too.
Cottonwood is one the most beautiful parks anywhere. It’s on the shores of Kluane lake and the lake is surrounded by mountains. We met Donna and Dick from Howell and sat by the fire until the sun was just down—11:30pm. It stopped getting dark back by Toad river but now it just gets morning right away as soon as the sun goes down.

June 27, 2009

6/27 – Traveled from Toad Rive BC to Swift River, Yukon, Continental Divide Lodge & RV Park. Beside the beautiful scenery, on this trip we saw LOTS of animals. We saw 5 black bears and 2 brown bears, possibly grizzles; 2 moose, and so many bison we were unable to count. There was a 73 mile area that the bison roamed free. We took a picture of a mountain that looked like it was folded over onto itself. We later found out that the name of the mountain is Folded Mountain. Later in the evening after unhooking at the camp, Burr took a small hike to Rancheria Falls. He said it was a beautiful scenic walk.

June 26, 2009

6/26 – Traveled from Hudson’s Hope BC to Toad River BC. The Alaskan Highway is very rough. Our closet collapsed with all the bouncing – not to mention the excess weight from unnecessary clothes. On the way we saw another black bear and a herd of bison. At the campground we saw 6 moose feeding in the river – beautiful site.

June 25, 2009

6/25 – Traveled from Prince George to Hudson’s Hope British Columbia – in the rain. On the ride we saw a deer, an eagle, and 2 black bears.