If I Ran The Zoo

 This is me pretending to be Large and In Charge while the owners are away for the day.  I’ve got keys to all the doors AND the toilet paper holders.   I’ve got the office phone.   I’ve got a Walkie-Talkie that I can call Russ on to make him do the jobs I don’t want to do…just kidding. We have things split up fairly well already.  

On a typical day we start work at 9, open the office, check the showers and restrooms to see if they need attention (usually yes). Here is our “exhausting” commute..  we walk from our trailer to the office!

We see who has checked in after hours and update the magic board you see behind me in the photo

We help folks dump their waste water tanks, check folks in and out of the park, take phone calls, make reservations, sell snacks and souvenirs in the office.  

We clean the Cabin and the Yurt, launder the bedding, sell firewood, pick up the trash,  and chat with guests.  We clean the bathrooms, showers and office.  

If I ran the zoo then the only thing I would change is I’d get rid of the paper shower mats that get gross after they get wet and require frequent changing.  But I do NOT really run the zoo.  I might qualify to be in charge of the nuthouse, though!

Changes

Here is the view driving toward Cantwell on May 8th

And here it is July 1st

Other things have changed as well:  more wildflowers!  We hiked part of the Triple Lakes trail in Denali National Park today   We also hiked it in late May when only a couple types of wildflowers were blooming but today there were so many   I counted at least 10 different kinds growing along the trail

In May the lakes had different kinds of ducks displaying mating behaviors   Today there were new little ducklings!

Willow ptarmigan have turned from white to brown as have snowshoe hares   

Besides observing the changes here we have driven over Hatcher Pass once it opened last week.  

And we camped at South Rolly Lake campground and at Eklutna Lake.  We hiked to Thunderbird Falls and walked around the Eagle River nature center near Anchorage 

Things are changing but they are always beautiful 

Things in the RV Park

 There are the usual things…RVs of all types, adults, kids, dogs, tents, campfires (in pits raised off the ground), nice people and ditzy people.   In the past we had a momma moose and 2 calves visiting daily but that hasn’t happened since the campground got busier. 

 Today we had a short-eared owl hanging out in a tree all day   Also wildflowers are started to pop

Dwarf fireweed

Bluebells

Arctic raspberries and

Poppies are poppin’

Recombobulation?

 While we were camping at Tangle Lakes we made some new friends— a nice couple from Scotland who are biking through Alaska. We shared conversations around the campfire one night, then a few days later they stayed at our campground and we got to spend more time with them. 

This is one of the things I love about traveling and also about working in a campground.  We’ve met folks from Scotland, England, New Zealand, Spain ,Italy, Canada, Switzerland and Germany as well as from around the US

After working our Sunday and Monday last week, we hit the Pause button on our Alaska adventure in order to to fly to Milwaukee where we attended Russ’s niece’s wedding   It feels almost surreal to be here.  Here we are all dressed up:

The day after the wedding some of our hometown friends and their adorable 2 year old came to see us in Milwaukee where we went to the Lakefront Arts Festival.  So many interesting artists displaying such varied items as fiber art that looked like painting, woven glass, photography, jewelry and paintings  

Here is a new budding artist at work:

Today we fly back to Alaska.   We’re at the Milwaukee Airport expanding our vocabulary!

Fish Tacos

 On Tuesday we had a day off that we spent fishing along the Denali Highway with a new friend Bobby.  He took us to one of his favorite spots and taught me how to fly fish. And as a result I caught 3 arctic grayling. One I threw back (kinda small) and the others we turned into fish tacos that night.  Yum!’

On the drive home from fishing Denali was out in all her magnificence!

Today we drove the Denali Highway again and are camping at Tangle Lakes BLM Campground  it is so quiet!

And today we saw a pair American Golden-Plover in all their breeding glory and a seagull chasing a big bald eagle away from their nest!   Brave little gulls!!

In this campground there is a ridge that provided us with a true sunset photo.  Though the sun went behind the ridge hours ago and it’s still light

Nice fire tonight too. We will probably explore the area more and camp here again tomorrow tonight 

We Didn’t Come To the Tundra for the Coffee

 

Earlier this week we did some exploring of the areas around Cantwell.  Tuesday we drove along the Denali Highway about 30 miles and back.  The Denali Highway runs from Cantwell east 135 miles to Paxson Alaska. The road is mostly gravel, some has a lot of washboard and potholes, some is pretty smoothly maintained. The road runs through the heart of the Alaska Range and the views are spectacular 

We returned to the campground briefly then headed north to Denali National Park again   We hoped to see a grizzly (from the truck) but no luck   We did see harlequin ducks (on my wishlist!) and a caribou   

The harlequin ducks are so beautiful!   They like to swim in fast-rushing and rocky rivers   Look them up to see how beautiful they are!

Added bonus:  Denali was Out!   It’s so rare and wonderful to see!

The next day we drove more of the Denali Highway, to Maclaren Pass which is the second highest pass in Alaska at just over 4000 feet   We saw many beautiful ducks, an eagle flying low and nearby, several porcupines, swans, and a few of these big guys:

We had lunch at the Maclaren Lodge where the burgers were great but the coffee… well…I wouldn’t drive 97 miles across the tundra for it.  

Yesterday we hiked about 3 1/2 miles on the Triple Lakes Trail in the national park   We made it to the first lake (again more great birds—Barrows Goldeneye, Horned Grebes, Mergansers, and American Wigeons)  We met some nice young hikers from Croatia who come to Alaska in the summers to work and explore  We meant to go on to lake 2 but the temps dropped and it began to rain, so we took a “rain check” on that   (I know you see what I did there…)

Today we fished a bit along the Jack River where we once again caught no fish. No red fish, no blue fish, none with a little star, none with a little car…but what a lot of fish I’m sure there are!?!

Excellent or Ridiculous

 Tuesday morning we left Cantwell in search of our first 2026 Alaskan Adventure.  We planned to drive to Manley Hot Springs, about 6 hours away.  Just as we were leaving I thought of a question about the campground so I called the number of the Roadhouse where the campground is located.   No answer and no answering machine. Hmmm!   I pulled up their website which announced they would post a notice when they were open for the season.   Double Hmmm!   Change of plans

As we were laughing about our situation and feeling a little silly for not checking this out sooner, we saw some people who were WAY more foolish than we have ever been.  An older couple in a rental RV were standing on the side of the road while a bull moose crossed the road headed right near them.  Instead of getting back in their truck they stood there snapping pictures.  Luckily the moose decided they were too dumb to bother with and just ambled on, passing within about 5 feet of them  

I was going to call our outing our first Excellent Adventure but I decided to rename it our Ridiculous Adventure just in honor of those folks

We decided to go to the Chena Hot Springs State Recreation Area and camp , fish, and enjoy the hot springs at the Chena Hot Springs Resort   We explored lots of little gravel roads that took us to river banks or ponds where we fished (and caught nothing) and bird watched

We saw 4 new types of birds for us: solitary sandpiper, surf scoter, horned grebe and my personal favorite long-tailed ducks   

The hot springs were very nice, especially since the weather is still pretty cold   The resort has a small restaurant with good food and friendly staff  

Soooo relaxing!