WEEK THREE

BACK TO MENU Sunday, Aug. 19Today we flew to Coldfoot which is 70 miles or so inside the Arctic Circle. The plane was a little propeller driven whirlybird that seated 8 people. Then we took a ride in a van on the Dalton Highway to a mining village called Wiseman.The 14 year round residents live a near subsistence lifestyle and their life is relatively untouched by the Alaskan cruise ship culture.

The people here have a reverence for nature that allows them to elevate a simple river stone to the stature of a Henry Moore sculpture, and sacrifice garden space for growing food on which they depend, to planting waves of flowers. They are amazing people.

The Arctic tundra is a beautiful and fagile ecosystem. It is teaming with life, which in turn, supports the lives of the residents. You can see the Alaskan Pipeline zigzagging over the mountains. I had no idea what an engineering marvel this thing is! This is definitely more than a big tube.

I took this picture from the plane at 11:45 pm. When they say "Midnight Sun", they mean it literally.

Monday, Aug. 20-22 The only way into Denali is a shuttle bus. All hiking is cross country--no trails past the entrance area. We don't have the skills for that kind of hiking so our wandering was limited. McKinley was shrouded in fog most of the time we there but we did get this glimpse of part of the peak. It is the little white point in the middle

We say lots of critters including two grizzly bears. We have few photographs because of the difficulty of taking pictures so far away without the right equipment. If we were close enough to take a good shot with our little digital, we would be in serious trouble. Here are some samples of the scenery.

Aug. 23 Anchorage is a clean and lovely city in the middle of a vast wilderness. Moose occasionally wander through city center. We camped five miles from the center of the city...bear alerts and bear signs galore! Everyplace we have been has been draped with lush flowers. We didn't expect that.

Leaving Anchorage we drove along Turnagain Arm. We watched a pod of Beluga whales with lots of babies pass by with the tide. They don't stop to pose for pictures but here is the stunning scenery.

We stopped at Girdwood and hiked about five miles of the Iditerod Trail. I was surprised to find that we were hiking in a temperate rainforest. Everything was draped with moss and ferns and we climbed roots of an old growth forest. We crossed a deep gorge on a hand tram suspended on a cable. Bill pulled us by hand as we dangled in a small wire basket. A rushing stream was below and panoramic views of mountains with glaciers all around.

I'm almost out of WiFi time but you must see some of our campsites! We have camped 26 days straight and we are still into it! There is no easy way to be immersed in these amazing places. The next pictures are views from our campsites.

Check back later for more. We are having a wonderful time and only regret that we can't bring all of you with us.