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.

Savage River in the Park

Ride to Savage River:

Jenna and I have been almost 2 weeks now and we still hadn't gotten into the park to hike; so we decided to give the Savage River trail another try. Last time we didn't quite make it because we missed our bus. So this time we made sure pack up everything and be early. So we had our water, cameras, and extra layers all packed up and ready to go on our adventure, hopefully.

I love riding the bus to our different destinations because it is always so scenic. No matter what window you look out you are sure to see beautiful landscape all around. This picture is just a little taste of what you gaze at on the way. Oh, and look.....I spy a moose!! It was my very first moose sighting!!

We were just riding along and the driver stops and says...."Look to your right, there's a moose!". She seemed to be just excited as all of us. Almost like this was her first time too. And at that moment everyone (including me) rushed to the right side of the bus, camera in hand, to get a picture.

The moose was busy having a snack minding her own business while we were oohing and aaahing the whole time. She then decided to walk right towards us and right behind the bus. I ran to the back to get some pictures close up.

I thought it was so funny that she stopped and looked at us like that.....almost like she wanted to say...."whatchu lookin' at?" It was a perfect photo opp.....as if she wanted us to take her picture. After her pose she continued to snack on her tree and then move on. As she walked into the distance, I almost envied the fact that she had such a beautiful home to live and explore in. What a cool life that would be.

After we finished gazing we continued on our journey to Savage River Canyon. Now that we had had our first bit of excitement Jenna and I were ready to see more.

When we finally made it I just knew that this hike was going to be wonderful. We started out and I at an instant I couldn't believe the landscape around us. I did a 360 turn around to capture my surroundings and I was already in awe. I loved how the river, that looked like creek, was running off into the distance into the mountains ahead. It is even more beautiful than I imagined it would be. It never ceases to amaze me how miraculous Alaska really is.

I do have to say, there is one downfall to being in Alaska…..the weather! It is so crazy and unpredictable! You just never know what it might throw at you; and we got our first taste of it on this trip. When we got there the sky was clear blue with just a few cumulous clouds but nothing serious...and then a little later we looked up and there was a big dark cloud above us. Aaarg! Are you kidding! We both knew what was about to happen, but of course we kept hiking…..We really didn't have a choice….our bus wasn't coming back for another hour and a half.

So, it wasn't but 10 or 15 minutes into our trip that we felt the first drop of rain. I was hoping it would just be a light rain, but judging by the darkness of the clouds and the crash of thunder we were in for a real treat. It's okay though, I was going to embrace this. I had mentally prepared myself and was ready to experience my first thunderstorm out on the Alaskan trail.

As it started to rain harder and harder there was a mix of hail to follow…..Just to add some more fun to the mix. I swear, Jenna and I just are not having any luck with this trail. First, we miss our bus out there and then we get hailed on! What is up?!

We toughed it out for a little while but it was starting to get really windy and cold; so Jenna and I decided that we needed to find shelter. First, we thought that maybe we could hide under the bridge we just passed, but nope there was no room. So we continued to walk and then look…there's that big huge rock we passed earlier. That would be perfect!! So we squished ourselves under there and waited it out. We pretty much laughed it off but we were secretly bummed. I think we both wanted to hike the whole thing. Oh well, we have the rest of the summer.

When the rain started to clear up we decided to come out from underneath our cave and head back. Our bus wasn't scheduled to come back for another 40 minutes by that time so we had some time to kill. We just walked really slow and searched for wildlife. We saw a few Alaskan hare and a couple of Ptarmigan, which is the state bird.

Then we looked up to the road and saw a bus was stopped on the bridge. So, we thought…oooo, I bet they're stopping to see an animal of some sort. So we hurried up there to see. And of course when we got up there it was nothing. We then asked the park ranger what the big deal was, and he said it was for the Ptarmigans. HaHa!! We were all excited over nothing. Oh well…it gave a good reason to keep talking to the ranger until our bus came.

When our bus got here I think we were both pretty relieved because we were still wet and cold; so a warm bus was sounding pretty good. It had been quite a day and it was only going to take us a few minutes to get back so that was nice. We were looking out for wild life on the way back and soon enough we saw another female moose that was much farther away than the first one. Then not too much farther up we saw a car that was stopped and something was in the road. The driver said, "I think its a wolf" and I said no, that's a Lynx!! Wow! That was too cool! I was really hoping to see one of those. Too bad it was from so far away.

What a nice ending to a such a great trip.

Thanks for stopping in :)

I miss you all!!

Paige

Denali-"The High One"

The Magnificent Mt. McKinley:

I just had the most exciting experience of my life this past Wednesday! I made it to the top of Mt. McKinley!! My friend Jenna and I took a summit, flight-seeing tour to the tallest mountain in North America (Denali) and flew all around it. Wow, what a ride!! I have never been so amazed.

I have been anticipating this flight for months now and it finally happened! And, I have to say it was even more spectacular than I ever expected or imagined it would be. Words can not explain the magnificence I witnessed up there. I have to say that it was a very spiritual and fantastic feeling to be around God's spectacular creation. It was the most mind blowing experience ever; and nothing could ever compare to this scenery we were above. Absolutely Breath taking!!

I didn't know if I would get a chance to do this or not because it is filled on space available basis through Aramark. So Jenna and I woke up early on our day off and ran to HR before they even opened and asked if there were any spots available. Since we get this tour for free we kind of have to work ourselves in there. And thank goodness we did.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 12 and I was so happy and excited that I was dancing all around the room with anticipation. It couldn't come soon enough. So, when it came time, Jenna and I met up to ride the bus out to Healy where the plane was taking off.....took us about 15 minutes to get there and when we did she was ecstatic. She had never flown in a non-commercial plane before, so she seemed to be even more anxious to get up there than I. When we the plane arrived we got in and she had the cutest, most excited face I've ever seen. She made me feel even better just knowing that we were going to experience this together. I had the most uncontrollable flutters all throughout just awaiting this flight.

As we were taking off I couldn't stop the excitement and anticipation. What a cool moment!! We were about the be at the top of the tallest mountain in North America!!! I couldn't even believe it!

As we were going up it got cloudier and cloudier so I started to get worried. What if we didn't get to see the mountain! Oh no!! But the crazy thing is, there is a completely different weather climate at the top so there was a good chance it would be completely different when we got up there. So, nonetheless we got to the top and it was cloudy in some spots and clear in others; so we still got see most of it anyway. As we were flying around it I just couldn't get over how much of it there was to see....it was so hard to grasp the true size of this puppy. It took us about 30 or 40 minutes to just circle the top....So, So awesome!!

After we left McKinley we hovered over an array of mountains that were equally as beautiful. It was almost completely clear in that area so you could see everything for miles. On one side of the plane there were what I call the zebra snow striped mountains standing tall and on the other side there were rolling hills of grey, orange and white. It was absolutely breathtaking. Oh, how God created such a beautiful world.....it was like I was looking into the window of heaven.

Nenana River, AK

River Rafting down the Nenana River:

On my first day off work and I was so anxious to get out and explore....so I decided to go white water rafting on the Nenana River. I heard really good things about it so I made sure I got down there early to sign up. Since all the activities around here are on a first come first serve basis for employees, you have to jump at any opportunity to get on. Luckily they had 4 seats open.

We paddled for 11 miles and it was, hands down, the most incredible river ride ever! The scenery was insane!! I could haven taken a thousand pictures. It was a little cloudy that day and probably the coldest day of since I'd been there (maybe low 60s). And the days prior were warm and breezy (around 70-78 degrees).....go figure, the day I go out in the water it decides to turn cold. But it's okay, they put dry suites on all of us to make sure we didn't get wet. The water in this river is mostly made of glacier melt so it was around 30 degrees! Thank God for the protection from that! Shhheeww!

It was a pretty easy river to paddle with low rapids; so every time we would start coasting I would gaze into the distance admiring everything and taking it all in. We all looked for the Dall sheep that hang out near there but I never saw one. But, I did see a raven's nest....That was pretty cool. It was all nestled in between 2 rocks on the side of the cliff.

After our 11 mile ride we ended up in Heally, which is the closest town to Denali, where a bus was waiting to pick us up to take us back to the Chalet. When I got out of the raft I was freezing.....my fingers and toes were numb and I was ready to get into the warm bus.

As we were riding down the Highway, I started to reflect back on what I just experienced and it totally embraced me....because again, even riding the bus, you couldn't take your eyes of the snow-capped monstrous mountains. I was hooked.....I had to see more because everywhere you look there is beauty all around. And if it's like this below, I can't even imagine how great it will be from above! I gotta get into the park and on top of one of those mountains!!

Roughin' it Alaskan style

McKinley Chalet Employee Village:

Living conditions:

Okay, so this is the part I was dreading the most about this experience.....room and board. I feel like I'm back in college around here......with the closet size rooms, roommates, twin beds, etc. Oh, and get this.....the bathroom is OUTSIDE! It's about 50 feet from the room and sure is a long and cold walk in the middle of the night when you gotta go.

We are also living off yummy cafeteria food here. Which, personally I am thankful for because the food prices here are completely outrageous! I thought that it would be horrific and only filled with local Alaskan food like moose, caribou, and such (food that didn't have to be shipped in). But, I was pleasantly surprised on my first day when I was presented with the welcoming southern food like fried chicken and mashed potatoes and just a little bit of fish on the side and ever since then we've had a pretty good selection of the food we eat every day. It was a very pleasant surprise.

My Home for the summer:

When I got here I was escorted to my room and

sort of knew what to expect by what Hannah had told me about the living situation, so I was somewhat prepared....so I opened the door and immediately my stomach dropped. My roommates stuff was all over the room, there was no space, no sheets, and a mysterious stench in the room I couldn't explain. Then, while I was unpacking, my roommate opened the unlocked door and looked just as shocked as me. The moment was priceless! She didn't even know I was coming.....I can only imagine what she was thinking.

I was worried that we wouldn't get along because she did not seem too happy to see me at all; but after a couple of days, we started to get along. She's actually pretty cool.....she's from Colorado and working here as a river rafting guide. So, we both had our separate stories to tell and everyday we get closer and closer.

Work:

I was scheduled to work as a sales associate at the Lynx Creek store, which is the local park mart and the only fill in station in town. I wasn't too sure about this either because I've never worked in retail before and I wasn't really looking forward to standing on my feet and being behind a cash register for 8 hours straight. But, after the first couple of days, I began to love it. I get to meet and greet all the people that are coming and going through Denali. I get to hear all there intriguing stories and see where they are coming from and where they've been in the park. I even met a couple from Canton, GA (about 30 min. away from Rome). That was pretty neat. Being what it is I have a pretty cool job. And lets just face it......I'll work anywhere as long as they let me explore Alaska

Thanks for stopping in for a quick read

Take care,

Paige

p.s.

These blogs will probably be coming out at a slow pace....the internet is horrendous here.