8. SEARCHING FOR ALASKA

JUNE 29- Moms 78th birthday today.

The tour mom and I went on was the HISTORIC GOLD PANNING TOUR.  We were driven(by a craazy woman!! every time she would point something out, the van would head that direction.we made an S down the road.  my mom pull out some ginger, so she wouldn't  get sick) out quite aways to a cabin in the woods that was a museum for the goldrush of "59(from mich).had come up to the area for gold.  The owner of the tour-Nick-had been collecting the stuff for years.  the museum was very interesting.  He then got behind the wheel(woo!-relief) and took us out even further.  on the way we saw a few kits(baby foxes)2 red and one black.  the black one is center toward the back.  Nick said the mama was there but we couldn't see her.  The 2 red ones were playing and the black one was watching from a distance. 
     We also saw 2 sand hill cranes.

We stopped at a river and the salmon were starting to run. Above in a tree top was this eagle watching the salmon.

When nick and his wife needed to "talk"  they would go to this spot and sit on a large rock overlooking the little valley. 

we continued on our way out to a river where Nick and his helper-William showed us how and where to dig  and how to sieve it and then wash the "dirt" or black sand in the bottom of the pans. there was nothing artifical about it.  in fact Nick when they needed extra money this is what he would do-come out and pan for some gold.

We all tried our hand at it, but in the end Nick did it for us.  we were all quite tenitive and afraid of washing our gold away.  of course he had been doing this for years and years.  we all came away with $40-60 worth!

nick was pretty amazing-he could even "hear" the gold in the bottom of everyones pan.  no mystic or anything, gold sounds different than the black sand in the bottom of the pan.

It was sooo fun! i never thought it would be so much fun.  It was kinda addicting, and we wanted to keep doing it, so i can understand the gold fever of the gold rushes.

mom and her gold

boy i looked tired!  close to the end of the tripthere is Nick!! what a character!

ON THE WAY BACK we stopped at the tundra-it was amazing!!  We were ablle to walk out on the tundra because it was public lands.  it was like walking on a Giant Sponge.  we had a young man with us and he was jumping on it like it was a trampoline.  they showed us the 5 different berries they pick and freeze or make jams, jellies or sauces for the winter-blueberry was the big one and bear berry. there was also a miniture venus fly trap.

Isn't it cool??!!

The permafrost is just 2-3 ft. down and they dig a cellar down into the permafrost for their freezer.  many alaskans still live "off the grid".  so to preserve the fruits and veggies, they put in their "freezer".

the tundra itself is mossy and they use it for insulation in their walls or for chinking between the logs in a log home.  The miners and natives used it for insulation to keep warm in the winter.  there was also this cottony wool  and they used this as insulation in their coats.  you could live off the tundra and hunt and fish,  and the natives did and do,  and so do Alaskans. 

I could have spent all day out on the tundra, it was just facinating(ohh! another adjective!)

WED. 30TH  we begin our trek south to Anchorage, by coach to Talkeetna, where we did some shopping and had lunch, the train to anchorage and then fly to seattle.this was a cute little town.

We did see Mt. McKinnley one more time, from the air plane aboe the cloudsThen we flew over a glacier-isn't this amazing!!  I could not even get the whoe shot in my camera at 20,000+ft.!

BYE ALASKA  }~;

7. SEARCHING FOR ALASKA

Monday- on to our last destination in Denali Nat'l park.   The sun is actually shining!

we are going to the NPS visitor center before we take off at 2pm to see their dog sleding team.  It is not just for show, it is a real team that they use to patrol the park in the winter.  their is only one road thru the park and it is closed all winter and half the spring.  we are really glad we went to the kennels to see the dogs and listen the the ranger incharge of the dogs and works them all winter.  the dogs were great.  the the girls would have really enjoyed this.  when the they went to get the dogs to hook them up to the sled, they all went balistic!  they love to work.  they all wanted to be chosen.

Driving down to the next lodge we drove in a narrow river valley between 2 mountain ranges-one the alaskan range the other?..

mt. mc kinnley hiding

worlds largest igloo. LOL

DRIVING DOWN to DENALI LODGE, it started to clear more and more until finally we started having a clearer and clearer view of MT. MC KINNLEY.

still hiding

finally, the very top peeking out.  it was wonderful and beautiful and we were all sooo excited.

our bus driver/guide(sweet girl-same age as as kaitlyn) let us off the bus to take pictures

in the middle of the clouds to top peeking out

ISN'T  SHE BEAUTIFUL!!!

from the lodge deck.  it was packed with people

ME, MOM AND MT. MC KINNLEY

the sun is starting to set causing more shadows

the mountains in front(the "foothill") are 12,000-13,00 fett high.  mt mc kinnley is over 20,000.  just amazing.  more info about her later.

we had not even gone to our room for fear of missing a view of the mountain.  remember the mountains in front are 12,000-13,000 ft high.  mt. mc kinnley is over 20,000.  it is sooo AWESOME!!

theysay(in normal years-so much rain this year) that only 30% actually see her when they come up here.

SO WE ARE IN THE 30% CLUB{~;

finally a few clouds went over the mountain and we ventured back to our room.  at dinner i went out and took a number of pix.  then clouds covered the summit.  waiting for the elusive mt. mc kennley.  we didn't see her again.

but considering that we had seen her since early afternoon, we were very fortunate.

DENALI  means "THE HIGH ONE" in native Athabaskan.  It is in the alaskan range-20,320ft.

5 giant glaciers flank it's sides and there are countless ice falls.

It has a larger bulk rise than Mt.Everest.  Base of Everest is 17,000 with a hgt. of 29,000.  the base of

mc kinley is 2000, giving it a 18,000' vertical rise.  Everest is only 12,000.

No oxogen is aloowed on Mt. McKinnley.  Everest is littered with oxogen tanks.

people die every year on Mt. McKinnley.