Alaskan Trip, Day 4, Denali National Park

Early the next morning we had breakfast at the lodge then loaded a bus for our 7 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour. We had hoped to see Mt. McKinley, aka Denali, the highest point in the US, but every time we got close the clouds were too low. We did get pictures of several other mountains with snow-covered peaks, though.

Although we saw several kinds of wildlife from the bus--moose, sheep and bear, none were close enough to get without a high powered zoom which our camera does not have. But, we did enjoy the beautiful scenery. The picture of me pointing to a flower is of Alaskan fireweed which is used as a harbinger of winter, kind of like the wooly worm is used to predict a cold winter in Kentucky. In Alaska, they say when the reddish fireweed blooms all the way to the top of the stalk, summer is over, and winter is near. It still had a few inches to go when we were there in late July.

When we got back to the lodge, since it was still bright daylight we took another walk and actually saw two bears across the river from our cabin. We wanted to get closer for a better picture, but the park employees advised against it, so you will have to settle for this picture of one of the bears (the brown smudge) eating berries in the brush! (to be continued.)

Alaskan Trip--Day 2
Our second full day in Alaska was spent at several working farms in the Delta Junction area, near Fairbanks. First we stopped at Rika's Road House State Park where we saw this cabin with a sod roof and toured the roadhouse, a common form of lodging for those travelling through Alaska in the days when cities and motels were far apart.

Our busy morning continued at Alpenglow Farms and Kennels where sheep and dog trainer Catherine Hadley showed how her collie could corral the sheep. After that we travelled to Misty Mountain Ranch where Scott Miller told us about raising elk and beef which was very interesting especially to the many beef farmers in our group. Next stop was lunch at the Buffalo Drive-In where we ate outside despite temperatures in the upper 50s.

After lunch we made one more stop--Kaspari Farms where Phil and Mary Kaspari showed us their yak ranch and Mary served us some great refreshments with the help of her grandson, part of the next generation of Alaskan farmers. Then back to our hotel (the Regency Fairbanks) for dinner. PS. pictures to be posted later. My dialup won't post this many pics without timing out and my air card isn't working tonight, but I want to go on and post this much.