Sunday, July 4, 2010
On the road again
2 July 2010
Friday
Another grey day and 57 degrees; we are beginning to think that the thermometer is stuck. We left Houston and retraced our way back to Anchorage. We loaded up on supplies and gas and found our way back to Tony and Mary's home. We enjoyed some of Tony's freshly baked stone-ground multi-grained bread with coffee and began our caravan to the Kenai Peninsula and Homer, Alaska. The low-hanging clouds and occasional rain kept us company most of the way. We stopped a few times to check out the views as we made our way along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. At one point the signage told us that we were looking at Mt. Redoubt and three other volcanoes across the inlet that began the mountains which eventually would form the Aluetian Archipelago. Soon we were on the Kenai Peninsula. We saw Dall sheep, eagles, a moose and lots of gulls.
As we neared the town of Homer we stopped to enjoy the view and to pick out the spit of land that jutted into the Inlet on which we would be camping for the night. We found a place on the rocky beach to call our own and Mary and Tony served homemade veggie lasagna with homemade noodles made from his own stone-ground grain. Delicious does not do it justice.
All along the beach cars and trucks and campers and tents are set up for the night. Here and there we can see bonfires. The sea is gentle and we settle in for the night.
Here we are on Homer Spit. The tsunami evacuation signs are just behind us on the roadway.
Friday
Another grey day and 57 degrees; we are beginning to think that the thermometer is stuck. We left Houston and retraced our way back to Anchorage. We loaded up on supplies and gas and found our way back to Tony and Mary's home. We enjoyed some of Tony's freshly baked stone-ground multi-grained bread with coffee and began our caravan to the Kenai Peninsula and Homer, Alaska. The low-hanging clouds and occasional rain kept us company most of the way. We stopped a few times to check out the views as we made our way along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. At one point the signage told us that we were looking at Mt. Redoubt and three other volcanoes across the inlet that began the mountains which eventually would form the Aluetian Archipelago. Soon we were on the Kenai Peninsula. We saw Dall sheep, eagles, a moose and lots of gulls.
As we neared the town of Homer we stopped to enjoy the view and to pick out the spit of land that jutted into the Inlet on which we would be camping for the night. We found a place on the rocky beach to call our own and Mary and Tony served homemade veggie lasagna with homemade noodles made from his own stone-ground grain. Delicious does not do it justice.
All along the beach cars and trucks and campers and tents are set up for the night. Here and there we can see bonfires. The sea is gentle and we settle in for the night.
Here we are on Homer Spit. The tsunami evacuation signs are just behind us on the roadway.
More Denali
On our journey to see Denali up close and personal with three gentlemen from Spain.
Just look at that view!
Denali pix
Cannot believe our great fortune in being able to fly close to the continent's tallest mountain peak: Denali (The Big One)
The Big One~Denali
1 July 2010
Thursday
While skyping with Liza last night she encouraged us to continue to try to contact her friend Matt who works in Kantishna at the end of the Park Road into Denali. Just before seeing a film called the The Heartbeat of Denali, we made one more attempt. Not only were we successful but Matt had us booked on a flight into the Park at 10:00 AM. Suddenly we were on a flightseeing trip in a small 6-passenger single-engine plane begin flown by a real live bush pilot. He gave us a great blow-by-blow description of what were seeing on the ground below us. We could see the road on which we had driven yesterday and the area in which we hiked. Soon we were deep into the park and landing on a gravel strip just below the tiny settlement known as Kantishna. We met Liza's friends and their colleagues. After a quick tour of the Skyline Lodge which they built and maintain on the side of a low mountain we followed directions to enjoy a hike into the tundra. No, Liza, we did not participate in tundra rolling although we did ask about it. They assured us that you probably did it while you were here and that if we did, we needed to clear away all rocks. They said it was more fun to watch someone else roll on the tundra than it was to actually do it. The tundra is such a soft, cushy experience. Hopefully the pictures will do it justice.
Oh, and did I mention that the sky is clearing?
At 3:00 pm it was time for us to say farewell. We were grouped with another couple and six people from Spain for the return flight. I offered to help translate for the pilots. We then were taken on a most incredible flight to see Denali [Mt. McKinely] up close and personal aboard another small plane. The skies cooperated beautifully and we could not take pictures fast enough. As one of the Spaniards remarked: FANTASTICO
After the 1 1/2 hour flight we landed at park headquarters and headed to our next destination: Houston [Alaska] and our next campground. It was hard to sleep after all that we had seen today.
Thursday
While skyping with Liza last night she encouraged us to continue to try to contact her friend Matt who works in Kantishna at the end of the Park Road into Denali. Just before seeing a film called the The Heartbeat of Denali, we made one more attempt. Not only were we successful but Matt had us booked on a flight into the Park at 10:00 AM. Suddenly we were on a flightseeing trip in a small 6-passenger single-engine plane begin flown by a real live bush pilot. He gave us a great blow-by-blow description of what were seeing on the ground below us. We could see the road on which we had driven yesterday and the area in which we hiked. Soon we were deep into the park and landing on a gravel strip just below the tiny settlement known as Kantishna. We met Liza's friends and their colleagues. After a quick tour of the Skyline Lodge which they built and maintain on the side of a low mountain we followed directions to enjoy a hike into the tundra. No, Liza, we did not participate in tundra rolling although we did ask about it. They assured us that you probably did it while you were here and that if we did, we needed to clear away all rocks. They said it was more fun to watch someone else roll on the tundra than it was to actually do it. The tundra is such a soft, cushy experience. Hopefully the pictures will do it justice.
Oh, and did I mention that the sky is clearing?
At 3:00 pm it was time for us to say farewell. We were grouped with another couple and six people from Spain for the return flight. I offered to help translate for the pilots. We then were taken on a most incredible flight to see Denali [Mt. McKinely] up close and personal aboard another small plane. The skies cooperated beautifully and we could not take pictures fast enough. As one of the Spaniards remarked: FANTASTICO
After the 1 1/2 hour flight we landed at park headquarters and headed to our next destination: Houston [Alaska] and our next campground. It was hard to sleep after all that we had seen today.
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