Anchorage! July 7, 2014

Made it to Anchorage!  Many, many thanks to Jeff and Sarah for welcoming us into their home last night.  We caught up on some errands today and met up with Tam's friend Sarah (different Sarah) from college.  We will spend the next few days fixing bikes and clothes, running more errands, eating tons of wonderful food, exploring the Anchorage area, and planning our route from here. 

Many thanks also to our parents and Leslie for sending us letters and packages!

My fancy new saddle

More Pancakes! July 5, 2014

After we wake up, we bike into town with John and Maureen to have pancakes at the well-known Roadhouse restaurant.  They're simply delicious; thin, flavored with fat blueberries, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  Afterwards we go down to the Susitna River to enjoy a perfect view of the mountains.

at the Susitna River, big mountains behind

 I finally have time and weather nice enough to do a painting.  Danny works on updating the blog.   The river is a loud place.  Trains, helicopters, airplanes, motorboats, fireworks, and lots of people create a sort of cacophony of noises.  We spend multiple hours at the river then bike back to John and Maureen's RV, where we have lunch and share delicious tortilla chips and guacamole.  The guac is a wonderful delicacy.  It's late afternoon when they shuttle us back to the end of the spur road and we take off biking again on the Parks Highway.  The road is mostly flat with unremarkable scenery, but the 30 miles we bike are tough due to a fierce headwind.  We set up camp just outside of the small town of Willow at Nancy Lake campground.

Nancy Lake around 11 pm

Favorite "Adopt A Highway" sponsor: Backcountry Llamaventures
Strangest place passed: Family Firing Range

Danny's side note: Willow, the town we are camped next to, got its start as a mining town in the late 1800s and was relatively unknown until 1976, when it gained a moderate degree of fame due to it being the choice for the new capital city of Alaska.  The committee in charge of selecting the new city had to find a place on state-owned ground with moderate temperatures, along the railroad and existing roadways, and over thirty miles from Fairbanks and Anchorage.  Enough funding for the move never materialized and the idea was politically defeated in 1982.  Thus Juneau, though ridiculously far from actual Alaska, remains the capital city.

More Biking Bliss and Talkeetna, July 4, 2014

It's a holiday!  We had talked about it the night before, but we didn't remember until midway throughout the day.  When you're removed from humanity, the days flow together.  The trees don't care whether it's Thursday or Friday.  But maybe the weather knows, because it could not have been better on this July 4th.  Before setting off from our campground in Denali State Park, we soaked up amazing views of the Alaska Range.  There are only two or three days per summer month where McKinley can be fully seen, top to bottom, and we were lucky enough to experience this one.

 The perfect weather and the road gave us some more biking bliss.  The miles flew by, and we had done over 40 by lunch.  After lunch, we biked 25 more and then met John and Maureen, our friends from the Denali campground, at the Talkeetna Spur Road.  We hadn't planned on going to Talkeetna, as it's 14 miles off the main highway, but they convinced us to go for the festivities and offered to drive us the 14 miles.  Why not?!  Talkeetna is a small, somewhat touristy town best known as the jumping off point for McKinley climbers to be flown out to the mountain, but it still maintains its original charm.  Live music was everywhere, and Tam and I shared a delicious calzone.  Afterward we fell for homemade ice cream (how could you not) and looked around for the mayor, who's a tawny cat, but couldn't find him. We pitched our tent next to John and Maureen's RV and fell asleep to the sound of fireworks.

Biking Bliss and the Ramen Experiment, July 3, 2014

Because of the late night getting out of Denali (late dinner + food shopping for the next few days), we woke around 10 to the pitter of rain on the tent... or so I thought.  It was actually flies buzzing around the inside of the fly!  Contrary to my original thought about the rain, it was a beautiful, warm day with no wind, and our road was well paved with a large shoulder and moderate grades to the few hills.  All shades of wildflowers lined the road: purple lupines, pink pea plants, and yellow asters sharply contrasted with the austere sharpness of the white mountains rising all around.

 We made it to a Denali State Park camnpground around 7:00, having ridden 72 miles in about eight hours, including a long lunch break!  We were very proud of ourselves; back on the Dalton, 72 miles would have taken us twice that time.  We planned on having a low key night to catch up on journal entries, reading, etc., but I struck up a conversation with John and Maureen, two folks up here RVing from Anchorage for the July 4th weekend.  We ended up spending the evening with them and their son Jeff and his wife Sarah.  The warmth of their company and their campfire, in the shadow of the Alaska Range, transformed an otherwise mundane evening.  McKinley, the Moose's Tooth, and Mt Hunter were all clearly visible.  A wonderful day it was, with splendid company and the best scenery anywhere.

I did find time among biking and being social to experiment with a new food: ramen noodles.  We were given some a few days before by Brandon, just one pack.  We refused more because we didn't think it would hydrate cold.  We don't carry a stove for ease and convenience, so for dinner we always eat foods that quickly hydrate without heat, couscous and instant mashed potatoes being our main staples in remote areas.  Ramen never occurred to me; it's much bulkier than couscous or mashed potatoes, so it doesn't fit so well into a confining, hard-sided bear can.  Still, I was curious.  I left some ramen in water for about 30 minutes, and when I came back it was fully hydrated.  I would surmise that, due to its pretty much instant hydration in hot water, that it would take no more than five or ten minutes in cold or room-temperature water.  I hope that many of the frightening ingredients are in the flavor packet that we wouldn't use, but we still probably won't buy ramen due to its atrocious nutritional value.  In a pinch, though, now we know!  It's pretty good dry, too, as a crunchy snack.

Goodbye Denali, Hello Pizza, July 2, 2014

We hike into Toklat station and hop on the first bus of the day headed west.  Our driver smokes at each rest stop and has a deep, raspy voice that is both nice to listen to and hard to understand.  We wind through mountains, valleys, and meadows similar to those we hiked through.  We pass the place we saw the grizzly, and we can see the pass we hiked over.  As we head west, things open up, and we follow wide river valleys.  We stop at the Eielson Visitor Center, which is beautifully and sustainably designed.  Here we are able to get water, as well as clarification on some of the tracks we saw.  There is a large model of Mt McKinley and routes people have climbed, as well as how it was formed by glaciers.  There is also a wealth of information on the wildlife and flowers in the park.  Continuing on down the road, we see open meadows with small lakes, and to our left, the giant mountains.  We can see the lower snowy ridgeline, and far above, a ridge of Mt McKinley pokes through the clouds.  It looks unreal somehow, like it's just floating in the air.  Wonder Lake is unmistakable.  It's the biggest lake we've seen yet, and quite beautiful.  We walk around for a bit, enjoying the patchy sun, then catch the bus back.  As we ride, it starts to rain again.

McKinley, way up there

On the bus, we see: many herds of caribou, including at least five bulls with huge, furry antlers, three grizzly bears, Dall Sheep grazing high on green slopes, two golden eagles, and one short-eared owl.  We discuss our grizzly bear sightings.  On one hand, it is nice to observe them and get a chance to watch their behavior safely from the bus.  On the other hand, it's not as special or as memorable as meeting such an amazing creature on their own terms.  On the bus ride back, we stop to pick up five wet backpackers.  They sit in the back with us, with all their gear.  Turns out they're the same group we saw while getting our backcountry permit, and they followed almost the same route as we did in units 8-10, except in reverse.  They are fun, friendly, adventurous people from all over, who somehow got to know each other through various connections.  We spend the ride back talking to them and moving all our gear when our bus breaks down.  Later on, we join them for a fabulous pizza dinner at the Prospector.  Thanks again to Brandon, Marco, Martin, Karen, and Chris for the wonderful stories, good times, and generosity.