Moving On: Denali Nat'l Park to Matanuska Glacier State Park

In the morning, we had a good breakfast of eggs and ham, along with the last of the rolls we bought for sandwiches.  With the RV packed up, it was time to head to the park’s main Visitor Center.  As I looked at the skies to the west, I noted it was a clear blue morning.  I commented to David that maybe the people traveling into the park would be treated with the mountain out.  As we drove east, we caught our first full view of Mt. Denali at a turnoff before reaching the Savage Creek area.

We stopped for photos and enjoyed the warm sun on our faces.  While we didn’t see any wildlife on our drive out, we were fortunate to have the view of the mountain out our right window.  What a glorious and sunny day. The temperature was forecasted for the 70’s today.  I was very comfortable in slacks and a short sleeved tee-shirt.

At the Visitor Center I got my US National Parks passport book stamped and we watched a movie in the theatre.  We enjoyed walking around the inside of the center, admiring the art work from several of the recent “Artist in Residence” participants.  Denali is an inspiring place and the paintings and sculptures on exhibit were equally inspiring.

Our next stop was the dumping station at Riley Mercantile.  We also treated ourselves to an ice cream cone before heading to our campsite in the Riley Creek CG.  A rather large mixed use campground, we were able to find a nice spot near the back of the first loop road.  Set up for the night, we settled in for dinner and a movie.

The next morning I was awake a couple of hours before David, so I spent some time working on the photos that I wanted to post on Facebook later in the morning from the Mercantile where there was free WiFi.  I noticed both during the evening as well as the morning, that there was a significant amount of noise at the Riley CG.  During the evening and early the next morning helicopters and small airplanes could be heard overhead.  We also heard the train whistle around 8pm.  In the morning, there seemed to be a lot of early morning activity on the road which could be heard at our campsite.  For future reference, I would probably not stay here again.  The main reason I booked here was due to the proximity to the dump station and mercantile.  A better option would have been the Savage Creek CG where they also allow RV’s although David would remind me that after four nights of being totally self-sustained in the RV, it was nice to get out to the dumping station and to take on fresh water.

After showers and breakfast, and some time at the Mercantile for coffee and to upload some photos to Facebook, we were ready to move on down the highway, towards Palmer and the Glenn Highway.  It was 11:00am.   As with our last RV Adventure in 2010, we found ourselves stopping in Cantwell for gas.  We knew we didn’t have to fill-up there, as we only needed enough fuel to get to Wasilla and the Holiday Station there.  Cantwell is notoriously expensive (roughly fifty cents more than Glitter Gulch or Talkeetna).  We bought 15 gallons at $4.67/gallon, enough to safely get us to Wasilla.

In Wasilla we filled up on gas at $3.97/gallon less an immediate five cent at the pump discount with the Holiday credit card.  Another nickel would be rebated on our billing statement as a new card holder.  We also had to buy propane as we had run the generator and tank dry earlier that morning at Riley Creek.  Propane was $3.70/gallon, but was also discounted 15% off with the Holiday card.  For anyone planning a trip to Alaska and expecting to use quite a bit of fuel, the Holiday Store credit card is well worth the effort to obtain before your trip.  You can apply online and it takes less than a couple of weeks to get your card.  The “new card” discount is good for 90 days after issuance.

In Palmer, we stopped at Carrs (a Safeway brand/affiliate) to stock up on some needed groceries.  Since it was approaching dinnertime, we decided to buy some fried chicken and sides at the hot food deli.  The chicken was on the dry side, as though it had been under the heat lamps too long, but it was OK.  We were back on the road by 4:45pm, with plans to stop at Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site for at least photos . . . and maybe to overnight.  Unfortunately with our late start out of Denali NP, we were unable to make the stop at the Musk Ox farm in Palmer.  I was actually looking forward to it, but it was already 5:00pm as we passed the turnoff to the farm.

The drive along the Glenn Highway as very nice; the skies were partly cloudy but clear enough to see around the valley to the mountains.  It was nice to be making the drive in better weather than the last time we took this route.  I recall that evening being rainy, with clouds on the mountain tops and fog in the valley below.  The view from the Matanuska overlook at MM99 was beautiful.  We continued on the couple of miles to the state park.

After driving the campground loop that had 12 campsites, we opted to set up in the large paved rest area instead.  All overnight parking was $15/night but we preferred the sunny open area with the beautiful view to the thick wooded area, of the campground.  There are two cash only pay stations, one at the entrance to the campground and the other in the main parking lot of the public use area and overlook facing the glacier.  Both areas had toilets for public use.

With the RV parked and set up, I took a walk down to the small shelter that faced the Matanuska Glacier.  There I met a couple who were picking wild raspberries.  They had already filled a quart sized ziplock baggie and were more than helpful in showing me where to look and what to pick.  For a brief moment, I had visions of Christopher McCandless from “Into the Wild” fame who died from eating poisonous berries he picked near Denali NP back in the 1990’s. 

I took some photos and picked a few berries to take back to show David.  We went back out and picked a small bowl full.  While smaller than what you would buy in the supermarket, they were juicy and sweet.

Back at the RV, we popped some microwave popcorn and settled in for a couple of hours of TV that we brought on our laptop.  This had become our evening ritual after dinner and before bedtime each night.  A nice way to wind down from the day’s activities.  When we went to bed, the inside temperature of the motorhome was 78F thanks to the early evening sun.

Denali - The Caribou Drama Scene

Tuesday was our last day on the shuttle into the park.  The day was bright and gave reason for promise of a better day than the day before.  It definitely did not disappoint!  In fact, we had an AMAZING day.  Our driver was Ben, who was superb.   He gave us great insight into the lives of the various animals that call Denali National Park home.

Shortly after he picked us up at Tek CG, we found our first grizzly bear just as we entered the Igloo Canyon area.  It was foraging along a creek in a ravine.  A few minutes later, we saw another bear, this time climbing up out of a deep ravine.  Both were several hundred yards away from the road.

From there, we continued on towards Eielson.  As we ventured into the Sable Pass area, Ben sighted a sow with a couple of cubs; probably “cubs of the year” born earlier this spring.  The sow could be seen eating and digging while the two youngsters played and then had to run to catch up with her.  When they stopped, they could be seen playing and tumbling on the tundra.  Their play today would help to develop their skills for later as adults.

Already behind schedule by about 10 minutes, we made our next stop at a location near Highway Pass that would have us lose another 15 minutes.   It was the one that while more than 1,000 yards away, would be burned in my memory as one of my all-time top experiences in Denali.

Admittedly, the bus passengers were starting to fall into a lull, many has passed out asleep or were chatting in their native language about who knows what.  David was on one side of the bus sighting, while I was on the other.  He noticed some “brown dots” (caribou) scattering up on a high plateau. With the naked eye, they looked like ants.  We yelled for Ben to stop the bus!

With the window dropped, I began to photograph the Caribou Drama on the hillside.  Even with my longest telephoto lens (70-300mm) fully extended, I could not really tell what I was seeing.  Someone at the front of the bus yelled “GRIZZLY” and then it was clear.  This small herd of 12 to 15 caribou, females with young yearlings, had wandered into ambush with a bear hiding over the ridge waiting for them to get close enough attack.

(NOTE: You will want to click on these photos to enlarge them!)

 

It was clear that the caribou could not see the bear.  From the time that I captured my first photo of him until he was atop the ridge chasing the herd, just three seconds had elapsed.  It was an amazing minute or so, with the bear apparently unsuccessful in bringing down its prey.  I say apparently because the reports from others up in the front of the bus was that there were two bears and that a large caribou made a defensive charge towards the bear seen at the front of the herd.  Since my vantage point was at the rear, and my camera was focused there, I only saw the one bear.

It was an amazing thing to witness; truly a National Geographic moment in the wilderness of Denali.  It is unfortunate that the shuttle bus environment is so bad for photography.  It is practically impossible to get a stable position, without movement.  Often shooting out of the bus window, you get bumped or the bus rocks with the movement of the people inside.  I did the best I could, knowing that given the distance and the shooting conditions, I’d be lucky to get any images that captured that moment of life and death.

As predicted, the dispatcher at Eielson asked Ben why we were so late into the Visitor Center.  He just chuckled and said, “It was one of those drives in that you just had to be there to believe.”   As they walked off, I heard Ben tell the story of the grizzly bear stalking the caribou.  It seemed he was as amazed by the experience as we were.

At Eielson, David and I caught a bus out to Wonder Lake in hopes of seeing a moose in the kettle ponds.  We were one of two couples put on the empty 12:30pm “sweeper bus.”  Our driver was a very lame guy by the name of Paul.  He was not very social and gave zero commentary for the next three and a half hours!

The only time he did speak to us was during the return to Eielson from Wonder Lake when a very young caribou was in front of us, walking along the road.  She was small, almost tiny, and seemingly separated from her mom and lost.  She would walk for several yards, and then stop to look around.  She could be seen vocalizing and then tilting her head and moving her ears as if to be moving a satellite receiver to capture a signal.  With no response, she continued on down the road, occasionally stopping to take water from a pothole in the road.  It was sad to think of what could be expected to be the outcome for such a small, young calf.  This was also along the section of the road that we had seen the grizzly bear just a couple of days ago.  Surely if he was anywhere in the area, he could be expected to find his next meal practically at his doorstep.

Back at Eielson, the dispatcher put about 20 hikers on the bus with us.  (The other couple who had boarded with us at Eielson got off at the “Y” in the road to hike out to Kantishna.)  The hikers had all had a full day and were seemingly exhausted from their day.  There was one family that spoke broken English who were as interested in sighting wildlife as we were.  The seven of us were the only ones really paying attention to the environs, and could expect that if we wanted to see animals, it would be us (and not Paul) who would need to find them.

As we crossed through Thoroughfare Pass, I did see a golden brown bear down in a little ravine.  I yelled “STOP” to which got a “WHAT?” from the driver.  I said “BEAR” and he then accommodated my request.  With the bear about 100 yards from the road, I expected that Paul would have turned off the bus to allow us an opportunity to observe in silence while photographing without the rumble of the bus engine.  Nope, with about a 30 second stop, he barked “Here we go” and off we went.  I so did not like this guy and wished it wasn’t so far to the next stop at Toklat to catch a new bus.  But alas, we made due and continued on with Paul.

Scheduled to be at the Tek CG at 4:30pm, Paul had to have been proud of making it back early. We were dropped off at 4:05pm . . . irritated that he could have surely afforded a little more time at the bear viewing back at Thoroughfare Pass.  That said, it had been a great morning of viewing and we were not going to let the afternoon with Paul detract from that.

Dinner back at the RV was the second night of spaghetti with the leftover sauce from Sunday night.  We got an early night to bed. 

David with Mt. Denali behind him

Denali National Park - TEK Campground Days 1 & 2

During our three days aboard the shuttle buses into the park, we had very mixed experiences.  On the first day (our “reserved” shuttle bus) we were scheduled to Wonder Lake.  With a 7:25am pick-up we were fortunate to get out before the clouds rolled in later in the day.  We were able to see Mt. Denali from the Stony Dome Overlook area; although the view became more obscured as we approached the Eielson Visitor Center.

 Along this part of the ride, we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife close enough to photograph.  We saw “white dots” (Dall Sheep) on the peaks and “brown dots” (Caribou) on the low tundra valleys.  On the way out to Wonder Lake, beyond Eielson we saw a bull moose feeding down on the tundra.  He was about 200 yards from the road, and a challenge to photograph.  Shortly after that, however, we had our first great photo op, a grizzly boar walking right up the road like he owned the place.  And for about five minutes, he did!  Our bus driver Barr said that she sees him along that stretch of road every couple of weeks.  She turned off the bus as we watched him approach and then walk right past the bus.  How exciting!

Down at Wonder Lake, we were disappointed to learn that the blueberries were not very plentiful this year due to the long rainy season and lack of mosquitoes.  I was surprised to hear that since reports from Wonder Lake this year had been that the mozzies were significant.  I suppose everything is relative.  Yes, there were plenty of them around down by the lake and up at the bus parking spot.  I was happy I had bug dope.

The ride back from Wonder Lake afforded us our second bear sighting, again on the road (approximately MM 70).  There was a grizzly sow plus two larger cubs (probably second year, maybe even third) in the road.  As our bus approached, they began to run, still in the road.  They continued for a couple of minutes until a bus approached from the opposite direction.  At that time, they all three darted off to the right of our bus, out into the tundra.  They took cover in some heavy brush, but one of the cubs decided to run through the tundra, creating a rooster tail of water spray behind it.  How exciting!

From there, the bulk of our ride back to camp had some brief sightings.  We did see another grizzly bear high up on a plateau above the Tolkat River as well as a soaring golden eagle.  We also saw a horry marmot along the road crossing over the Polychrome Pass. 

Back at camp, we settled in for a nice spaghetti dinner and TV time on the laptop.

The next day (Monday) was a miserable day; it was cold, damp and rainy.  We caught the shuttle bus around 8:30 and headed in to Eielson.  Along the way, we saw very little.  I’m not sure if it was because we were on a bus with a bunch of foreign professional photographers who were treating the ride like a tour waiting to have wildlife pointed out to them . . . or that the weather was getting worse the further into the park we traveled.  We did see a couple of bears, one walking along the river bed of the East Fork of the Toklat River and the other walking up a rocky ravine near Stony Dome.  When we got to Eielson we were happy to get with the dispatcher to secure another bus to Wonder Lake.

Our new bus mates were not much better as this bus was largely comprised of a packaged tour group from Europe.  It was clear from hearing them complain, they didn’t understand the nature of the shuttle bus system in the park.  They were fussy about the weather, the lack of animal sightings. 

  

At each rest stop, David used the squeegee and water bucket to clean the windows around our seats.  Not much good that it would do, however, as within five minutes they were mucked up again.  Our ride out to Wonder Lake and then back out towards the park entrance was slow and uneventful.  Most of the passengers were asleep for the three plus hour ride.

By this time however, the roads were really nasty, making it impossible to keep the windows of the bus clean enough to see through.

Our Return to Alaska - The Great Alaskan RV Adventure 2

Having had a fabulous first RV Adventure in The Beast back in 2010, we were game for doing it again in 2014.  Fortunately our friends in Fairbanks had an equally great time using our timeshare in Hawaii, so we did another two week barter with them.

This blog will mostly be about our Alaskan experiences, rather than the details of RV vacationing in Alaska.  For those reading this blog, wanting those sorts of details, I encourage you to check out "David & Von's Great Alaskan Adventure" blog here.

And so the story begins . . .

Travel from Milwaukee to Fairbanks was uneventful.  The Culberts met us at the airport and had us set up in the RV at their work’s parking lot.  After a good night’s sleep, we had breakfast at the Cookie Jar.  Known for their wonderful home bakery items, we enjoyed our meal with four cinnamon rolls to go.  They are a Restaurant.com participant, making our meal very inexpensive ($35 including the cinnamon rolls and tip).

After breakfast we went grocery shopping at Safeway.  After buying food for our first week in Denali, I commented to David “Wow how much do you think we spent?”  He said he had no idea.  I replied “I bet we’re at about $150, give or take.”  We spent $149.99!  Couldn’t do that again if I tried.

We spent a leisurely drive to Denali National Park.  As expected there were several areas of road construction, but no stop or slow down was more than about 10 or 15 minutes.  We arrived at the main park entrance at around 1:30pm.  Check in at Riley Mercantile was very slow, with lots of people in front of us without reservations and all RV sites in the campgrounds reportedly sol d out.  It was amazing to me the number of people who just showed up and expected to be able to get a campsite.

We were able to check in for all five of our nights (four at Tek and the last, fifth night at Riley.  I was happy to not have to potentially deal with the line again.

Our drive from the park entrance to the Tek Campground was rather unimpressive.  Not much wildlife to see along the way in.  We did see a Ptarmigan hen with around eight chicks.  They were pecking in the gravel, eating who knows what.  They didn’t seem to skidding of people, going about their business as I snapped a couple of photos.

At Tek CG, we are able to secure a nice spot right across from the bathrooms, campsite #7.  This would be home for the next five days.  I really like the campground at Tek because of how secluded and private the sites are.  The Tek shuttle bus pass makes staying at Tek especially affordable.  For the price what works out to less than a single trip on the bus system, you have unlimited shuttle trips into the park during your stay at Tek.  We paid $34.50 for our passes, with a first trip face value of $47.25 (to Wonder Lake).

Staying at Tek has some minor restrictions, including the fact that until you are ready to leave, you cannot return back to the park entrance to do activities such as the Visitor Center or the Dog Kennel Demonstration.  For Tek campers, you must plan to do those things either before you head into your campground or on your return out.  This was our primary logic behind booking our last night in Denali NP at Riley.  The other reason was that at Riley Campground what that they have dumping and (water) refill stations available, which would allow us to take care of the RV needs before heading on for the next few days of wilderness camping.