Once in Denali National Park, the scenery changed to wide open spaces and enormous vistas -- reminding us of Glacier National Park or Yosemite.
It's funny how the brain makes sense of things by comparing them to other known things. That's why meeting someone often prompts one to say, "She reminds me of my sister"..or friend..or co-worker. When I met Alaska it reminded me of other places I already know, which surprised me. I had expected the National Geographic Channel "TV version" of Alaska -- all herds of wildlife and calving glaciers, fields of wildflowers, and salmon jumping upstream with grizzlies patrolling the riverbank while fly fishers hauled in record-setting fishes.
I know those travelogues are real and even if I didn't see it, it was happening somewhere. (Our travel companions did go fly fishing.) But I realized on some naive level I expected to see all of it up close and personal at every turn.
We saw very little wildlife: a few bald eagles, a caribou from about a mile away and a few moose -- one up close and 2-3 just outside of Wasilla along the train tracks. We were lucky enough to see a black bear up close catching salmon in a stream near the Mendenhall Glacier. We were on a boardwalk adjacent to the parking lot and the stream ran under a footbridge which is where the bear was. Hoards of tourists 3-4 deep jostled with cameras. Hub got a nice video. I was too short to see it "in person" over all the other people crammed onto the rail of the bridge. Not a postcard sort of sighting.
Once I settled into expecting the familiar, I could appreciate the nuances of Alaska that are different. Tundra for one. It's bouncy. We stuck our hands into a hole and only a few inches below the surface soil it was frigid cold, though warm enough for us to be wearing T-shirts that day in the sun.
Glaciers are another. We saw the Mendenhall Glacier first, which terminates into a lovely lake fed by a pounding waterfall.
And Denali (Mt. McKinley) itself is something to see -- if you can. It is often shrouded in fog and clouds - only 30% of visitors ever see it. We were lucky. We were 60 miles away, but there it was and there is no denying its majesty and enormity.
The other thing I loved was the domed train we rode from Denali National Park back to Anchorage. It was an all-day trip as the bus had been, but there was no comparison. It was so much fun to sit "up top" and have the panoramic view. The service was excellent, the intermittent narration just enough, the trip to the dining car downstairs for a light lunch felt elegant (white table cloths, leather bound menus!) and fun.
Back in Anchorage, we had another 24 hours before flying to Seattle. We found a couple of great restaurants and coffee shops and visited two breweries (for Hub's microbrew-tasting hobby). We found a waterfront bike and walking trail that was quiet and lovely. A nice, mellow end to the trip.
And this, my friends, ends the summer vacation series.
The biggest lesson I learned was to appreciate exactly where I live. After 32 years of living in this vacationland of two mountain ranges, an enormous Sound, dozens of rivers, the Pacific Ocean, lakes, lakes, lakes and a big metropolitan city along with picturesque small towns, it's easy to take it a bit for granted. I am always appreciative of where I live, but I do expect I'll see mountains when I wake up and the waterfront of our town, and the river I drive next to on the way to my Yoga studio. It's just the backdrop to my life. After this trip, I see it all with the eyes of a tourist and can feel the amazement I felt in 1982 when we decided to settle in this part of the country. Two young "kids" from flat cornfield country Illinois looked at each other and said, "Can you believe we get to live HERE?!?" Yep, we do. And we are blessed.
At least, that's the view from here… ©
Breath-taking photos you brought back with you! If you live with waterfalls and mountain views daily, you really do need to renew your appreciation for them. Most of us have to drive hundreds of miles to see those.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of going to Maine and not seeing so much as a squirrel. We expected Moose at every turn and activity went there we were told they'd be. At each place the locals would say, "You should have been here an hour ago..." and they'd show us poop and tracks.
I'd like to know what Alaska smells like. I suppose not much different than Washington but it sure would be different from the city were I live, I think.
Sarah must have been out of town if the Wasilla Moose weren't nervous about becoming the next field dressing campaign video. Cool to see the bear.
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved "home" after 3 years near Buffalo NY we drove through a corner of Yellowstone Park. Every few minutes our 4-year old asked, "Where's the bear?" Each time we would patiently explain that they were wild animals and while we couldn't promise, we might see one during our drive. About an hour in, she quietly said, "Oh, there's the bear." In the rear view mirror, we saw a young black bear just off the road, but because we were towing a small trailer there was no opportunity to turn around. She was perfectly satisfied, however, just knowing the bear was there.
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