Do I REALLY Have to Leave Alaska??

 Tomorrow we begin our return trip.  I am feeling sad about that.  It’s been amazing on ALL the levels.   

Our last full day in Alaska we hiked a 2.6 mile hike up and back down to the Tok River Outlook at Eagle Trail State Recreation Area 

View from the top!

Me happy I made it!!

Me sad we’re leaving tomorrow.  We have other great places to visit on our way home but I do love Alaska even more after this trip here 

But First, The Flowers! (Then beer and birds!)

 I’ve been seeing more wildflowers that I haven’t seen before.  Some I have been able to identify:

This, according to the Field Guide to Alaskan Wildflowers, is Single Delight or Shy Maiden.  

This I recognize as wild geranium

Here’s one I still haven’t been able to ID:

And here are some more for your viewing pleasure!

I normally don’t like beer but I found a couple brewed here that I’m fond of.  In particular I really like this one.  Poor bunny

And finally new birds for me:  boreal chickadee and golden-crowned sparrow 

Among the Clouds

After leaving the very fun campground we stayed in near Denali (shoutout to Joe and Tammy and crew at Cantwell RV park for free hot showers and a great cookout on the 4th of July!!) we drove on to see the Matanuska Glacier 

Next stop was Blueberry Lake State Recreation Área about 25 miles east of Valdez. I can’t begin to describe the rugged beauty of this area!   Here are a few pictures

This was the view from our campsite!

We drove into Valdez today in search of a laundromat,(Check) a car wash, (Check) cell service, (Check) and what we hope will be a good fresh fish lunch!

Bridalveil and Horsetail Falls outside of Valdez are stunning!

Seems like our laundry is about done and so we are off in search of lunch!!

Denali

We sat in the last row of the bus😬.  Was it bumpy ?  Was it dusty and smoky from fires?  Was it totally worth it?   YES!

We saw Big horn sheep and caribou from afar. We saw willow ptarmigan.   We freaking saw Denali!!  Such a rarity 

I’ve been here twice 1996 and 2025 and seen it both times.  So lucky!!🍀 

Hiked on our way out at Savage River.  

Me momentarily understanding how danged lucky I am!!

New birds for me today: willow ptarmigan and spruce and grouse

Where There’s Smoke…

 

Alaska summer wildfires are a thing.  They are everywhere. We drove  through a fair amount of smoke yesterday going south on the Parks Highway from Fairbanks toward Denali.  Signs warned of the need for delays and pilot cars to go south of Anderson where our next campground is located

Upon arrival we were extremely disappointed in the campground (can you say “false advertising “?)  This is part of the adventure though—the disappointment of non-working showers, dirty bathrooms, no picnic table in the campsite   We decided Enough Adventure of that kind and resolved to move on today

During the night we got emergency notifications for evacuations near that area   

Yes that’s from 2:43 a.m.!

This morning we stopped and talked to one of the firefighters staying in Anderson who told us the road north back to Fairbanks was closed but the road south was open.  There is a section where the firefighters are actively working and the road is open one lane only so we had to wait and follow a pilot car about 15 miles. 

Today we drove to Cantwell which is just south of Denali National Park where we have Real Working Showers  and amazing views nearby

Its the simple pleasures!!

Alaska!

 

We made it from Haines Junction into Alaska (easiest border crossing in my entire life!!) and to the Tok River State Recreation Area campground.  

Not gonna lie…road noises loud there and the rain was off and on so we wisely decided to move on   But to where??  We talked to a woman from Chattanooga who told us about a nice hike east of Fairbanks so we headed to  Chena River State Recreation and got a nice campsite for a couple nights. 

Today we hiked most of the Angel Rocks trail 

The view from where I called it quits.

Tomorrow we head toward Denali National Park!

Kluane National Park

During our planning to drive to Alaska my travel partner asked where I might like to go in Alaska.  I’ve been there twice before—up the inside passage on the Alaska State Ferry and around Anchorage/Denali/Seward/Homer on a trip with my mom.  So I thought it would be great to see some of the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park if possible

But today we were able to see and hike near the St-Elias mountain range in the Kluane (Klu-AH-ne) National Park on the Canadian side.  They are spectacular!   The 2 national parks are contiguous and create one of the largest international protected areas 

On the hike we saw lots of familiar wildflowers. 

Bluebells 

Lupines

And this weeks challenge!   Are these yellow paintbrush?

Last week my friend JH helped me ID false Solomon’s seal and tall white bog orchid!