Saw a Lynx!!

One of my goals for this trip was to see a Lynx; and yesterday I finally did. I was out hiking in the park near Sable Pass and as I was walking down Park Road….there he was.

They are extremely rare to see because they are very skittish and extremely camouflaged. When I first caught eye of it I only saw movement. It was not until I got a closer look that I saw what was really there. It was a LYNX! I was stoked. It was straight across the road from where I was walking and once it caught sight of me it looked me straight in the eye with the same wonderment and curiosity that I did him.

I think the reason he was there was because there were a tree full of Mag Pie just being loud as hell. I'm glad they were too because it made me focus on that spot. And when I did it was weird because I took a glance into the ditch below the tree and just saw movement. I didn't know what was there so I flinched a bit. Then when I tried to find out what it was I saw that it was a harmless Lynx lookin' all cute.

I watched him climb up and down this hill until the bus came to pick me up. It was amazing to me that he didn't scurry away when he saw me. He looked like he could have been a younger lynx too because he wasn't that big. Maybe about 5 or 6 months old.

When the bus finally came to pick me up I told the driver what I just saw and of course he gets on the loud speaker and tells all the tourists. So, immediately they get all excited and whip their cameras out as quick as they can and start making all kinds of noise.

I wasn't sure if he would show himself after all of that but sure enough, there he was.

Oh, he was so cute…..scurrying all around.

There's nothing like a good wild life sighting in Alaska.

The Changing Seasons

It's starting to get cold and dark here in Alaska and the colors are beginning to change. I feel as though Autumn is here and that it came over night. The seasons change so rapidly in Denali. When I first got here in June it was Spring and the weather was great. The temperature ranged from 50 to 70 degrees throughout the day. It was so nice, cool, and crisp and never got dark. It took a little while to get used to the constant sunlight around here but I grew to love it. At first it was so bizarre that I felt like I was on another planet. I would never know what time it was in the evening because the sun never went down. It was crazy.

After the first two weeks of being here the wild flowers started to bloom. The first ones to come out were the pink wild roses, then came the yellow tundra rose and then the blue bells, which were edible and tasted a little like cucumber. Next, were the infamous fire weed that wound up popping up everywhere! Along the highway, amongst all the buildings, and even through the rocks on the side of the mountain. It is the most hearty plant/ weed I've ever seen and it is beautiful!

Alaskan wildflowers are spectacular. And what I love the most is that no one planted them, they just grow anywhere and survive in their extreme habitat. Their roots survive the freezing sun-less winter and seem to thrive because of it. One day I just went walking through the trails taking pictures of all the different kinds that grow all around and I just couldn't believe it. They were everywhere.

The fire weed is almost like a season predictor. It blooms in the summer and has multiple pink flowers up top with long slender leaves below. Then when it starts to get cold the petals will start to drop and be left with only a dark pink stem on top. Then at the beginning of fall the leaves turn into a vibrant red. It's really quite fascinating to watch. And I just learned a fun fact that when the fire weed starts turning white it means there's only 3 weeks left until winter.

I saw my first hints of fall when Liza and I went into the park Wednesday. The colors of some of the low growing plants were just starting to change and we came across a really vibrant red plant and I didn't know what it was until I looked closely. It was fireweed!

This hike we went on yesterday was one of the best ones yet. It wasn't really even like a hike. It was more like a frolic through a natural playground. It wasn't strenuous at all. It was just a nice little exploration through a section of the park.

Our plan was just to ride the bus through the park and have the driver drop us off at a destination we felt would be cool to hike through. It turned out to be around mile 30 of the park, just passed Igloo Creek. The mountains were just surrounding both sides of the road and it just felt right so we told the driver to stop and let us off.

After he dropped us off we started walking up a creek bed through a valley not really having any destination in mind. We just headed straight. The scenery was breath taking all around, as always. And as we walked around we kept running into these narrow trails. At first I thought it was made by humans but then all of a sudden we crossed over some bear scat…..so, maybe not. Normally, I would have been afraid, but by now I'm pretty much over being scared of them and I think Liza was too. We've had so many people tell us what to do if we encountered one, so I felt like I was prepared.

As we walked on through, stepping over the big pile of fresh scat, we

started to look around…Wow….it was spectacular! Every which way you looked was something different. The color and definition of the mountains above and valleys below would take your breath away. We were completely surrounded with beauty. I felt so alive.

I have fallen in love with this place so much that I have decided to stay a little longer than I originally had expected. I was supposed to leave September 2nd but they have let me extend my contract to the 19th. I'm hoping this way I will see some northern lights and catch the Alaskan snow. I'm probably going to freeze my little southern butt off, but oh well, I think it'll be worth it.

So, until next time, I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summer as much as I am mine.

I miss you all so much!!!

A visit from the Fam.

The day my Mom and Uncle David were scheduled come visit Denali had finally come. I was so excited for them to be here and to see their familiar faces. They had traveled over 4,000 miles to get here, spent their first day in Fairbanks and then rode the bus to Denali. So, needless to say, when they got here they were exhausted. I was working in the gift shop when they got here, so when they came to see me it was a quick "Hello" and off to dinner they went.

They were on one of those organized tours so they pretty much have their trip all scheduled out. So the following day they went on the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which was the same 8 hour bus ride into the park that I went on. I had to sit that one out because frankly I've had enough of the bus rides with the tourists. They said they had a good time though. They saw all kinds of wildlife…..bears, moose, dall sheep, golden eagle, fox, ground squirrel. They even saw a wolf stalking a caribou. How lucky they were to see nature in action. I bet that was so cool. I was so happy for them because you don't always have that much luck seeing so many animals and it kind of made up for the cloudy day they had.

After their adventure we all went out to eat and had a nice hearty meal at the restaurant in the hotel and I have to say it was De-li-cious! It was definitely a much needed meal after all the cafeteria food I'd been eating. And even better, I got to stay in their hotel afterwards! It was so nice! I got to take a bath and sleep in a queen sized bed that didn't have springs poking through my back. They also had a really nice balcony right next to the river with a beautiful view of the mountains. Ooohhh, the simple pleasures in life!

The next day they had all to themselves without the tour group so we decided to go into the park. It was a cold and cloudy day again, with just a bit of sun poking through so I was a little bummed. But they weren't complaining because 50 degree weather to them was a complete delight since they had just come from hot Georgia and even hotter Florida. They said it was over 100 degrees when they left! Oh, I'm so glad I'm not down there right now.

The first thing we did on our outing was the Sled Dog Demonstration. This is where they take you out to the dog kennels in the park and let you play with the Huskys for a little bit and just demonstrate how they strap them on to the sled before they go mushing. It was really quite cute when they were gathering up the dogs to strap them in because they all got so revved up, started barking and jumping all around. And right after the selected few had been picked they calmed down. They just all wanted to be the one to put on a show.

Then, after we left there we went on to the visitors center to walk around and check out the museum and read up on all the Denali History, Geography, and Wildlife. I felt like such a tourist.

For our next destination, I desperately wanted to get them into the park and get on a decent hike. At first they wanted to go on the trails around the visitors center but I really wanted to take them to Savage river because those are nice but they look so much like all the trails back home and I wanted to wow them with the scenery.

We took the 10 minute ride to the trail, hiked around in the fast blowing wind, and enjoyed the beautiful canyon view. We saw ptarmigan, Alaska's state bird, right when we got there and they were all walking around in a group of 4 right on the trail. They were so cute. They looked like little miniature chickens scurrying around.

We were all taking a leisurely hike down this incredibly unique V-shaped canyon. We scoped out all the wild flowers and walked the line of the river the whole way just taking it in. I watched as Mom and Uncle David took pictures and admired everything around them and it reminded me of how I was when I first took this trail.

We were so caught up at that point that we forgot to look at the time. It was 2:15, and our bus was scheduled to leave at 2:30. Crap! So, I started booking it on down the trail to try and catch the bus before it left and the whole way I was thinking….I'm never going to make it, I'm never going to make it. But, luckily I did, right at 2:30 but they weren't with me. So, I begged the driver to wait and her response was, "I can wait 5 minutes and then I have to leave. Dang, I thought, if we miss this bus we have to wait another hour and we'll be late for our scheduled events that night. But then, to my surprise, there they were huffin and a puffin down the trail, and they were going to make it! I was so proud of them.

We had such a good time. We saw a couple of moose on the way back and continued on our way back to the next scheduled event. I really wish we could have more time hiking in the park, but it is just impossible to see everything I wanted them to see. It makes me really glad that I am spending this amount of time here because there are just way no way you can really see Densli in 3 days.

It was their last day here and it was on to the next adventure for them. They headed out on the train to Talkeetna, then to Anchorage and on to a glacier tour that would eventually land them in Juneau. Oh, how I wish I could have gone with them. I know they are going to have an unforgettable trip.

It was so nice to see and spend time with family here. Alaska is just a place that I've truly fallen in love with and I'm so glad they got to see first hand how I did. I think we may have found paradise here.

Up Stream

Dragonfly Creek:


Hello all you followers….sorry I've been so behind on the blog. I've been super busy with work and hiking through beautiful DNP. I've finally figured out this shuttle bus system and how to get my way around, so I've been taking full advantage and getting myself deep into the park. And let me tell you….the further you go, the prettier it gets.

I'm going to start from the beginning of last week when Jenna and I went down to Dragon Fly Creek. This wasn't exactly in Denali Park but we still had the best time. The walk there was kind of rough because we had to go down park highway about 2 miles towards Healy. But by the time we got there it was all worth it.

We walked off the road and down beneath the bridge where there was a beautiful rock creek. It reminded me so much of the creeks back home. I felt like I was down at the creek near our cabin in North Carolina. Surprisingly, it was much longer and more shallow than ours, but had them most beautiful rocks of red, white, brown, and jade green.

We walked about a mile or so up the creek and finally ended up at a small waterfall coming down through the massive rocks above. It was pretty stinkin' cool. You could tell that to water, that was probably formed my glacier melt, had carved the rock to make this shape. I wish you could see more detail so you would know what I'm talking about.

It was much prettier in person.

I have gotten to the point where I don't even like taking pictures any more because of the fact that every time I look at them later they don't look anything like what I shot.

Anyway, after we finished our gazing we walked back down the creek and it only took about 30 minutes to get back to the bridge to meet up with some of Jenna's friends.

They were rock climbing by the river, so went to go say "hello". We walked a little ways to find a wide open area that dropped down to the Nenana River. It was beautiful, as always and we then looked down to find their climbing ropes attached to the rock. So Jenna boldly hung over the side to see if she could spot them. She obviously was not scared of hights. We then went down the trail that led to where they were, and to my surprise there was another waterfall. Well, it was more like a flowing stream.

They all tried to get us to climb the rock, but I had to wuss out and refuse; because by that time I was tired with wet, slippery shoes. Maybe next time.

After that we were able to hitch a ride back in an actual car (thank goodness) and change into some dry shoes. Oh, that was so nice to not have to walk the 2 miles down the road again because I definitely would of had some blister. It's kind of weird having to rely on others to get you around this place, but I have to say I don't mind. It only makes things more interesting and believe it or not, I don't even miss not having a car. Yes, it would have been nice to have on this trip but I have kind of gotten used to walking every where I go. It's kind of refreshing.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed my stories so far and aren't too bored with my rambling.

So, until next time, happy blogging and have a lovely day.

Keep enjoying the Summer!

Riding the Road

Last week my friends Jenna, Travis, and I were trying to decide how we wanted to spend our day off so decided to take a bike ride into the park. They allow us to rent a bike from work for free so I thought…why not? I'm not much of a bike rider myself but my boss, Eric Van den Hoogan, suggested that we put the bike on the bus, ride down to Savage River, then bike back into town. He said it would be about a 14 mile ride and that it was pretty much all down hill. So I was all for it. Mountainous scenery plus a down hill ride…sign me up.

We had planned to catch the bus at 2:30. We went down to the store, rented our bikes, and we were on our way. We left a little early and rode down the bike path until we made it up to the Wilderness Access Center (WAC) where the shuttle buses come to pick you up.

When we got there Jenna and Travis went one way and I went the other to put my bike up . Then when I came inside they were no where to be found. What?! They had ditched me!! Those punks! I thought that, and then I thought that maybe they went venturing around to kill time for an hour. So, I wondered around the WAC a little bit, got some info. about how to camp back country from the front desk, chatted a little while with a cute guy, drank some coffee. All was good.

Then, before I knew it was 2:30, I ran to the bus and they still weren't there. Oh no! They were going to miss the bus! So, I got the driver to wait and I ran around desperately trying to find them, and still no luck. I guess I would just go solo. That's cool, I almost wanted to do it alone anyway so I could take my time and really enjoy it.

On the bus ride over, I was anticipating this bike ride and getting more and more excited by the minute. I had two tourists riding behind me asking me all kinds of questions about my time here and the ride I was about to take. Some people around here call it "the interrogation". Haha! Then all of a sudden the bus driver started slowing down and said…."Look, there's Mt. McKinley!" So we stopped, got out, and took a picture. It was so magnificent! That was definitely as clear as I've seen it so far….just glowing behind the mountains in the foreground.

It was then that I knew this was going to be an unforgettable ride. The mountain was out, the weather was perfect, and best of all, I was going to be able to take my time and enjoy it.

When we arrived, I got my bike off the bus, walked around the Savage River trail a bit then took off down the road. We could not have picked a better day to take this ride. It was absolutely gorgeous; a little cloudy, but you could still see almost all the mountains as clear as day. What was even cooler was…..the longer I rode the clearer the sky became. So, as you can see, the mountain was out loud and proud. I stopped so many times just so I could sit and stare at it.

It was so nice to be out in this instead of just being on a bus, where your sight is limited. Here, I can have a extended open view of everything. I was just riding looking left to right trying to take it all in and not miss a thing.

Once I got to this point in my trip, you could no longer see McKinley. But, in my opinion, I thought the scenery was even greater than the view of the Mountain. The pictures do not give it justice. It was quite a sight. And, even better, from this point on you can fly down the mountain. It was SO much fun!!

By the time I got back it was about 7:00 and I was starving. So I returned the bike to the store, went to a local restaurant, Prospectors, and had a much needed dinner. While I was there, I got a text from Jenna apologizing and saying that the bus wouldn't wait. I was so confused, so I went over to her room to see what she was talking about and it turned out that she and Travis had caught the 1:30 bus, an hour before me. She said that they both were calling for me and couldn't find me anywhere…..too funny. She was so worried that I was going to be mad about it, but I wasn't at all. I'm actually really glad it did happen because I know I wouldn't have had the same experience that I did had we been together. We both agreed that we should do it again and maybe next time together.

Into the Park-part 1

Here it is, my day off and I needed something to do. So I decided I wanted to go into the park to see some wildlife. I had heard the Tundra Wilderness tour was good for sighting animals.

So, I walked up to the front desk of the hotel to see what time the bus was leaving and just to my luck it was sitting right outside about to leave. Man, was that good timing.

I hopped on to the bus, which was packed full of tourists all rarin' to go. I see them come in and out of the store on a regular basis and they come from all around and they are usually older….but all so happy to be there.

We left the canyon and turned on to Park Rd. heading west towards Mt. McKinley.

Our bus driver was spouting out the facts left and right just as we began. And, don't worry, I won't bore you with the facts. I thought a lot of them were very interesting so I actually took a journal and wrote most of them down….and Yeeesss…that's how big a nerd I am. It made the trip go by a little faster, that's for sure.

We went through Savage River on into Mt. Wright, where the first set of Dall Sheep were spotted. They looked like little white specks up on a super tall mountain. And of course all the tourists get there binoculars out to try to find the Sheep. I knew we could get closer than that somewhere else. And I was right, about 5 miles down the road we saw some more. I took a picture but they're just too far away to get a good shot.

Our next find was a group of bear taking a nap out on an icy cold glacier. Pretty cool that my first bear sighting was when they were all asleep.

You'll have to zoom it up a bunch to really see them.

Next, we stopped at Polychrome Pass for a little break. I think this was one of the best parts of the trip because he let us out to walk around a bit. There was some crazy wind that day so it was cold out there but I sure did enjoy the scenery.

This is what we saw on one side of the road

And this is what we saw on the other:

Land of the Midnight Sun

Sugar Loaf at Midnight:

I had the most incredible adventure last week. It was my day off and it was 11:00 at night. The sun was shining bright, and I didn't want to go to sleep, so I went and found some friends to join me on on a hike somewhere. I was just going to go on the short and easy flat trail that would quick and fulfilling, but my friend and co-worker Ray suggested Sugar Loaf. I had heard good things about Sugar Loaf but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But, I was up for anything at that point so I said……."Sure, let's go". And another co-worker, Chris, joined us and we set off on our hike at 11:30 at night.

This trail kicked my butt! It was so incredibly steep the whole way up. In some parts it was about a 90 degree incline for at least 300 feet. I was definitely not prepared for this. So after I was a huffin' and a puffin' behind my un-winded hiking buddies I had to stop and get myself together, take a breather and give myself a little pep talk….."you can do this Paige, you can do this". And then right after, I turned around to see the most beautiful wide open view of then canyon. The clouds above were dusted with purple, pink and blue and the land below seemed so small. That's when I knew it was going to be well worth it. It was just going to get better and better the further up I went. So, we trekked it on through a little further, got in some thick brush in some spots, and then even more steep sandy parts until we finally made it to the top. Or what I thought was the top.

By this time it was sunset and we were almost there. I could just barely see the orange of the sun behind the rocks and Ray and Chris were so excited that they darted to very the top to get the best view. I could already tell how incredible it was just by the way they were acting. They seemed so amazed and kept excitedly screaming down…."come on Paige, get up here!!" So pulled myself up the rocky slope as I fast as could and Yes, it was breathtaking! I have never seen so many colors in a sky before. It was like a wide open tapestry. I couldn't believe my eyes!

I was so enamored by this point that I didn't want to leave. If it weren't for the wind I probably wouldn't. It was so strong that it just about blew me off my feet.

Chris and Ray wanted me to go even further to the top, but I had to stop because I really felt like it was going to plunge me right off that mountain. It was a bit frustrating because the pictures I kept taking kept coming out blurry. Therefore, I decided to just sit back and enjoy the view. And boy what a view it was.

I have grown to have such a love an appreciation for Alaska in these past few weeks that I can't even explain. This just about did it for me. I never knew a sky could have such an array of colors. They just became more plentiful an vibrant by the minute. Again, what a wonderful and magnificent place we live in. I am constantly amazed.

Looking back on the mountain we just conquered:

In a land where the summer sun is always out and the mountains flow for miles, one can see that the exploration of this great land is endless and never complete.