0021 May 27th - Anchorage to Denali

Wet wet wet.  And cloudy.   That about describes most of the trip to Denali, which was a real shame because the views of the Denali mountains as you drive north can be stunning on a clear day.

We had checked the weather forecast in Anchorage and in addition to the fires in the Kenai, the forecast for the next several days was rain, but better weather forecast for the north.  So we decided to head for Denali and Fairbanks and see how we got on.  So when we encountered steady rain soon after leaving Anchorage, we were a bit disappointed, to say the least. But hey, this is Alaska, and you really can have 4 Seasons in One Day here, even more so than in Melbourne ! 

It was still raining when we stopped for lunch near Talkeetna, so we decided not to divert there for the moment (We hope to go for a Mt McKinley flight out of Talkeetna with the same pilot who flew me there last time, but no point in going there when the weather is bad).  By the time we got to the big Eskimo Igloo near Cantwell the rain had stopped, and the clouds started lifting !  I was SO happy, because this is surely one of the most beautiful and scenic parts of the world, and for Janet to not be able to see it would be such a loss.  Shortly afterwards we saw an adult moose running off into the bush, and then not 2 minutes later there were cars stopped beside the road and there was a baby moose (mooselet ? ) all on its own right beside the road, mewling – Or whatever noise a baby moose makes when it is obviously lost and wants its mother.  We presume the moose we had just seen was the mother, so we hope they found each other because mooselets are a prime food source for bears, and one on its own out here will not last too long.   After a few minutes, it spotted a white plastic supermarket bag on the ground, and went over and started eating it, which was horrible to see – Made you want to ban plastic bags immediately.   But due to the proximity of the adult moose  it was far too dangerous to get out of the car to remove the plastic bag from the mooselet – An angry mama moose is not a friendly moose !!  So we just had to leave it and hope mama  and calf were reunited.   This was the first mooselet I had ever seen too. 

The closer we got to Denali, the higher the cloud lifted, and we even started to see some blue sky !!  We logged in at the Park Mercantile, and found there were camp sites still available 12.8 miles into the park, at Savage River, so I immediately booked one for 2 nights, and also booked a bus tour on the shuttle bus right through the park up to mile 56 (Teklanika) for the next day.  Before going to the camp site, we nipped into town and got a few supplies, and dropped into the Salmon Bake bar / restaurant for a beer and Elk sliders – This was a favourite spot of mine 2 years ago, so I wanted to renew the acquaintance as soon as possible !!  At the bar we started chatting to a couple from South Carolina, Brian and Sarah,  who are working up here for the summer – He is a chef at a resort just down the road, and by coincidence was born in Panama !!  So we have agreed to meet again later and to sample his food, so we can get some more information on what to see and where to go (and where not to go !!) in Panama. 

We then drove the 13 miles into the park to the Savage River campground, and found a beautiful spot – And by now there was blue sky !  But still chilly, so we lit a fire and enjoyed that before having a light supper (we couldn’t resist some Elk sliders down at the Salmon Bake so didn’t need too much more !) and turning in.  What a perfect perfect spot !!

Pics are here :
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0021AnchorageToDenali?authkey=Gv1sRgCL28uYPz0Ny8AQ#