Denali jeep trip.....

We did the Denali Jeep trip today! One of the best parts of the trip so far. Thanks to Nick & Nathan for setting this up for us (hope you guys are enjoying our thank you).. For those who have seen the movie "Into the Wild", this is the trail he walked to get to the school bus... We didn't quite make it back that far, the rivier is running too high to cross, but this is fairly rugged terrain. We didn't see anything but Snow Hares on the way in, but on the way back out, there was fresh bear scat in the road..... We didn't miss the bear by much... The trip was great, pretty rugged jeep trail, and a bowl of beef stew and hot coffee waiting for us in the back country.


This guy is pretty interesting, he lives in a tent at the end of the trail.. a tent, not a cabin, and cooks the stew for the tourists....... worked on one of the Alaskan fishing boats for a while, & now lives in a tent..... The stew was really good! And some more fry bread.... He has no vehicle back there, he's about 18 miles back in the wilderness. No electricity, but a battery operated satellite phone in case of trouble. Those are canisters of bear repellant on his belt... He said he had been hearing "critters" up close all night long...

On the way out, there was just enough break in the clouds to "sorta" see Mt. McKinley ... We saw it better from 200 miles away the other day! That white in the center of the photo is the mountain, not clouds....

More of the trail.... That water is probably 2 feet deep, those were some DEEP holes in the trail.....

Headed south to Wasilla this afternoon.. low 40's and light rain again... I don't think we'll ever see the sun again. I hear it's 100 and dry in Dallas..... We're frozen up here.... I'm back to wearing my winter gear again & still shivering. We stopped at a small roadside cafe & I had 2 hot chocolates before I could stop the shivering.....

Well, up early in the morning and south through Anchorage to the Kenai peninsula. Another day or two and we'll be at the turnaround point & have to start thinking about heading back toward Texas again...... We have a general idea of the route, but haven't made specific plans yet, hope to be able to catch a ferry to Valdez & then back north to the Alaska Highway again ( only 1 highway in & out of Alaska)

Weather says cold & rainy again tomorrow..

Later everyone!