Alaskan adventure - day 9 — Captain Father John

We were up and out of our hotel at the crack of dawn and onto our school bus for a full day tour of the Denali National Park. The bus was full. Nick our driver was a knowledgable guide. He worked very hard to show us a wide range of wildlife. We saw moose, dall sheep, fox, arctic ground squirrels, grouse, swans and of course grizzly bears and cubs. The only animal we did not see were caribou. Oddly, caribou are the most prolific animals in Denali. The difference between a caribou and a reindeer is that reindeer are caribou that have been domesticated (and reindeer can fly).

The scenery is breathtaking. We came at a good time of year. It is fall and the Aspen trees are turning a golden color. Driver Nick advised that the peaks of Mt. McKinley are visible only 20% of the time. We had a perfect view of Mt. McKinley all day. The distance between the twin peaks is 2 miles. The height of the tallest peak is 20,273 feet. Climbing permits are issued to 1,500 climbers per year. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America. The mountain was named for then Senator McKinley. Alaskan oil interests were seeking favorable treatment from upcoming government legislation. President McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, NY before ever seeing the his namesake mountain.

Alaska has a lottery every year to guess the month, day, hour and minute when the ice melts on the Nenana River. They build a tripod and place it on the ice and attach it to an electronic clock with a string. When the tripod falls through the melted ice it triggers the clock to record the time. A lottery ticket costs $2.50 and pays out $300,000. Last year there were 20 winners that won $15,000 each.

What is a sourdough?

Sourdough is an affectionate Alaskan term for a person that has spent at least one winter in Alaska.

We are riding on the Wilderness Express glass dome train from Denali to Fairbanks. It is a four hour ride. We are in the caboose which has a bar on the sky deck and a restaurant on the first deck. The advantage of riding in the caboose is you can stand on the outdoor back platform and see where you have been. It is a great location to take a photo of the engine when the train turns a corner. The prime rib in the restaurant lived up to the hype. We have seen many moose during our train ride. The train made an unscheduled stop in the middle of a stretch of track around 7:06 PM. We wondered why and later found out there was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake in Fairbanks.

We crossed over a railroad bridge near the town of Ferry. For many years the only way townspeople on either side of the river could cross over was by ferry. Eventually the Alaska railroad built a bridge for the Wilderness Express. The townspeople stopped using the ferry and walked across the bridge. Then the townspeople put down planks over the tracks and drove their cars over the bridge. Unfortunately they became lazy and did not always remove the planks before the train came. The train had to stop and remove the planks which would cause about a one hour delay each day. There was a legal battle for a decade and the townspeople lost the lawsuit. In protest, for years, they piled trash on the bridge to stop the train. Eventually the railroad relented and built a highway bridge for the town of Ferry at no cost to Ferry. The animosity towards the railroad was so strong after battling for so many years that every July 4th the townspeople of Ferry gather on the bluff next to the tracks drop their pants and moon the passengers.

On Sunday we will go to a gold mine and pan for gold. Maybe we will strike it rich.

Our happy crew with Mt. McKinley in the background. image

Mt. McKinley on one of the 20% days.

Alison and Oscar.

Our caboose on the Wilderness Express

Yes that is a moose.