You couldn't see much on the 7 hour drive through the 94 mile ride to the "end of the road" through the park. One road in and Kantishna Lodge is at the end of the road. This 6 million acre park was established in 1972 . No private vehicles allowed on this unpaved primitive road- get on the bus Gus. Did you know every year a Congressman from Ohio files legislation to prevent the name change to Denali?A fire provided us with smoke filled air. Where is Mt. McKinley? No where in sight. Kirsty was our bus driver and gave a great tour of viewing the wild life. Buba spent the whole trip trying to spot wildlife. One moose and babies and tons of squirrels and birds. Kirsty's eyes are better than any binoculars. This is her 12th year driving the bus-last year she went to Georgia and drove back her new "Charlie" -which took her 11 days to drive it up to Denali (sleeping on the bus!).
This 94 miles felt like it was 50
0- bumpitty bump. Buba was so happy he wasn't driving it didn't bother him. I think what made up for the bumpitty were the homemade jumbo peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies Kirsty served every time she stopped the bus. We sat in the front seat nice and near to those sweet delights-even I had 3!
0- bumpitty bump. Buba was so happy he wasn't driving it didn't bother him. I think what made up for the bumpitty were the homemade jumbo peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies Kirsty served every time she stopped the bus. We sat in the front seat nice and near to those sweet delights-even I had 3! It was a slow day for the wildlife viewing and the air was thick with smoke. Yes this is the place where people crossed that land bridge from Asia some 25,000 years ago. My friends, the Athebascans hunted (moose, caribou and sheep) the area. The Cook Inlet (down by Anchorage) serves as Denali's drainage basin. The first assent of Mt. McKinley took place in 1913-it took 53 days and required the group to carve a 3 mile staircase into the sheets of ice. The "gold rush" of 1905 in the Kantishna Hills also brought a lot of prospectors and miners.
The lodge we are staying at -the Kantishna Roadhouse Lodge- was built to support those crazy prospectors. In 1976 a federal law terminated all that fun. Typically, 400,000 or so people visit annually. By the looks of things the visits are off at least 50%. Bad for the park and biz folks but good for Buba and Boca as we did not plan this trip in what normally gets booked a year in advance. And may I add is still quite pricey- our all inclusive room is $825 per night. Owned by a Native Corporation it is quite nice, looking very new and fresh and no TV's, phones or wifi and....
All the mosquito's you can possibly kill. There is no bag limit in Alaska-unlike moose or caribou. The locals have no qualms about the "outsiders" coming in and killing them. Swat away until your hearts content they say or until you run out of blood! Buba said "If I'd known they were this bad I'd brought my bug tamer suit". Your what? "Yup, a jacket/hoodie, pants and face net made out of screened material. I really like my new 3-D camo suit". Say what? Made of what? "Screen type material". Amen to not bringing it....can you image Buba looking like your screened in back porch? Me? I was Ms. Deet on Steroids-we are talking 99% Deet of which I am sure is not legal in the lower 48. I even sprayed it in my hair after those skeeters were munching on my scalp. Even bitten on my palm. Joy.
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close. Plus, like everything else about Alaska, these suckers are huge. Some say they are the state bird of Alaska. I may die of DEET overdose. These blood suckers can really drive a person scratchy and itchy with a B. My wash-n-wear clothing is ripped, stained and permanently dirty. Whatever we do to wash them clean it ain't' working. I've heard it said that dirty clothes, bear grease etc. all help keep mosquitoes away. From personal experience, I can tell you it's not working. Now to add insult to injury, it seems that any wine drinking causes you to smell good to the buggers.
You can only imagine what a vision of loveliness I am- back to the monk black. And I did notice my Monk friends did drip their soup on their robes-no show! As one mentioned "Don't let your worries get the best of you-remember Moses started out as a basket case!" Ok Father. I'll try.
We're staying at the Kantishna Roadhouse. located at the very end of the Denali Park Road in the historic mining district of Kantishna. The lodge has two dining areas, a full service saloon (thankfully), library, gift shop and activities desk. Activities include fishing, biking, hiking and a dog sled demonstration. We're set to see the demo tomorrow, I hope Buba doesn't get too interested in the dog sled.
More importantly, our room has a private bathroom and shower, climate control, and all the creature comforts - Alaskan style. They have an on-site green house that supplies the fresh produce and their own bakery. This is as close to high living as Bocahontas has been in a long time.
Hey did you hear about that study that cussing lessens pain? Seriously some study in England found that dropping the #$%# bombs sooth any pain- like when you stub your toe. Hey, I knew that. Take note. I had to get creative at the Seminary.
Here's a video on Denali to give you a brief look at the place:
