June 5 Denali N.P.

Today was a rest day. We took it easy and went to the Denali visitor center to peruse the exhibits. Saw a few moose and relaxed. Read some by the campsite and that's about it so today I will post various photos from our 21 day adventure. They are not in any particular order.

By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our 65 year old brother and zwager Jos in Nijmegen!!!

That's all folks!

At the Hot Springs near Fairbanks

The Alaska Pipeline!  Really no fooling this is it!

Ellen arrives in the 49th State and is welcomed with a Big Sign!

A neighbor in Denali who doesnt use the dryers in the campground

Ellen and her new counries flag!

A school in Alaska!  Where else would you see this sign.  I however would like to try an ATV.  I don't seem to remember the last time I was on one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The river runs by her!

The butt of a grizzly.  I called to him but he ignored me.  I wanted to show that I was King of the Forest.  Yeah right!

Hey who just kicked me in the ass!!!!

The Alaska range which goes 400 miles west.

Sgt Harry of the Yukon

A lonely RV by a frozen river

A river runs by him too!

June 4 Denali N.P.

Here's the mama moose keeping an eye on your favorite photographer.



So that your favorite photographer yours truly does not get too close to her 2  babies

The Nenana river running through Denali.

Our home away from home, our transportation and finally our favorite bathroom!

OK I'm confused which way to Owings Mills Maryland?

Today we got up really late and went to the Denali City.  Basically it was a tourist location but it was where Holland America Line takes its customers after their cruise.  Mainly it was a bunch of old 60 year olds who take the easy way to Alaska.  Most dissimilar from your favorite bloggers who took to the land trail and suffered through the wilds of the Yukon.  We bought some toddler books for Josie and Tyler and that was our day.  Thats all folks!

June 3 Denali N.P.

                                              Mama Grizzly Bear and her 2 cubs

                                                             Mooooooooooose

                                                  Yours truly

                                                  Mount McKinley

Before I start on todays adventure last night Ellen and I were stars in a "play" pretending we are wild animals. We went to the Ranger program and Ellen played a lynx (a type of wild bobcat) and I played the snowshoe hare(type of rabbit that exists on snow and is the prey of the lynx)  I hopped around and Ellen would pounce on me.  Let's just say no Tony awards will be given out for best actor and actress in a play.
Also from a few days ago I am a "waterhog" because we are dry camping (only using the water that the RV holds which is 35 gallons) and when I shower I use most of the water. Tsk Tsk
Today we took a bus ride deep into the Park to see Mt McKinley and wildlife.  You cannot drive in the park so we must use buses.  We saw grizzly bears and caribou and mooses and had a great view of Mt McKinley.  They are very strict here. More strict than the other national parks.  You cannot eat anything like sandwiches so that no crumbs fall on the ground.  They are extremely careful about getting close to the animals.  The only way to get to see a bear up close is if you are hiking and then who the hell wants to be that close. 
The weather has been cool in the mid 60's but the absolutely strangest thing is that we have not seen night in over two weeks.  Although the sun sets at midnight it is still very light out and it rises again at 3:30am.  We try to make it dark in the RV but the light still filters through and upsets all our biorhythms.  It only will get more light until summer solstice June 21.  Thats all folks!!!

June 2 Deanali National Park

                                                    The Moose at the Laundry

                                             Oversize Marshmellows

                                                       We Are Here

We finally made it to our major destination.  We arrived at the Riley Creek Campground and picked our spot and then went to make a reservation on the bus that takes you deep into the park.  You are only permitted to drive 15 miles into the park by your private vehicle.  So tomorrow we hope to see Mt. McKinley.  It is the tallest mountain in North America at 21,000 feet.  Unfortunately you can only see the summit once or twice a week due to clouds at 18,000 feet.  More tomorrow on our adventure.

We returned to the campground to do the laundry.  I sat outside and who comes up to the window but a giant moose.  I got Ellen's attention inside and told her to turn around and she nearly jumped out of her skin.  There's the 1500 pound mouse banging on the window.  She did want to see wildlife but not when she was laundering her "delicates".   Thats all folks!!

June 1 McKinley Campground outside Denali N.P.

A rope is attached to this tower and a pole they put on the ice with a clock.  When the rope breaks the clock stops and that is the winner of $380,000

The river which Ellen enjoyed so much she forgot to stop at our campground

We left the Chena river and headed back into Fairbanks where we had to stock up on grub.  We were surprised to see a haze over Fairbanks that we couldn't figure out.  There isn't any smog or heavy industry but when we left our RV we realized it was smoke.  They are having some serious wildfires here and the smoke permeates the entire area.  We headed south towards Denali but stopped halfway  at Nenana.  They have the Nenana Ice Classic which began in 1917 when bored railway workers would guess when the ice would break on the river so they could start work again.  Now it is a bigtime state event.  You buy a ticket for $2.50 and predict when the ice will break.  I chose April 28 at 7:10PM which is the precise minute that someone I know was born (Sorry Michelle but ice doesnt break up in September).  The 2011 jackpot was worth over $380,000.  So if luck shines I will be a bit richer in 2012. 

We started at Mile 318 on Alaska Route 3 and continued to drive towards Denali. We decided to stop at a campground on Mile 248.  Ellen was driving and I proceeded to fall asleep.  When I awoke we were at mile 240.  She was so enjoying the quiet (I was asleep)and the beautiful wooded mountains and snow that she forgot where to stop.  If I hadnt awoken we would have wound up in the Gulf of Alaska!!! Thats all folks!

PS My new nickname is "Waterhog" to be explained tomorrow.

May 31 Rosehip Campground Chena recreation area

Chena Hot springs

Riding our bikes

Ellen meets a bear

On the Chena River

Nature at its best

We left the Chena Hot Springs and drove 27 miles to the Rosehip Campground on the Chena river.  We parked our butts on the river bank had lunch and read for a while.  Very rustic.  We then lit a campfire au naturrel (no we weren't naked we just collected wood and started the fire ala Daniel Boone) We cooked on the open grill the food we "hunted" at the "safeway" and then discovered we would have to use our generator to start the microwave to cook the corn on the cob.  I think we have it as tough as most Alaskans of the 19th century.  We now can tell you the WORST part of Alaska that they don't tell you in the guidebooks.  THERE ARE MORE MOSQUITOS IN THIS STATE THAN THE REST OF THE 49 OTHER STATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am a walking scratcher on every part of my body.

May 30 Chena Hot Springs

This is the ice house



This is Ellen next to a bed in the ice bedroom



This is an ice Xmas tree



This is Ellen at the ice bar Everything is made of ice



This is the ice xylophone that really plays music

May 30 Memorial Day we spent here at the Chena Hot Springs.  This morning we went biking to the lake (the ice skating pond during the winter) and read for a few hours and then we came back to the RV to rest from all the reading we had done.  At 5 PM we took a tour of the Ice Museum.  That was fascinating.  Everything in there is made of ice including the bar, the stools, the glasses (which we filled with appletinis).  Inside you can rent a room to sleep on an ice bed and use an ice toilet.  They put caribou sheets on the bed and give you an arctic sleeping bag.  It is so cool (again no pun intended).  Unfortunately it costs $400 a night so Ellen vetoed that idea!  You are also able to rent the ice wedding chapel for $600 so Lauren and Jeremy could have done that.  The sculptures were made by a guy who has won many gold medals at the winter olympics.  His talent is incredible.  We came back to the RV and lit a campfire and sat outside with our bearspray. That’s all folks