Let me start with a couple of videos to show you how I spend the majority of my days…
My last post was from Tok, Alaska and from there I headed to Fairbanks to pick Bastien up at the airport. On the way I stopped at North Pole, Alaska to visit Santa and his reindeer. I had so much fun! First I stopped at the Antler Academy to visit the reindeer. They give you little cups of food when you go inside the enclosure. Those reindeer LOVE that food. They get pushy when you have a cup in your hand! But, it means you get to interact all up close and personal, they enjoy a pet and a scratch, and you can even gently feel the velvet on their antlers. I learned that the velvet is vascular living tissue that feeds and nourishes the antlers as they grow. They feel it when you touch the velvet, the same as touching sensitive skin, so you have to be gentle or they can spook and toss their heads. Animals that grow antlers actually struggle with calcium deficiency in their bones at this time since they are devoting so much physical energy to growing huge bones on their heads!
Then I went to visit SANTA! I enjoyed the workshop and set up a few secret things for my two younger nephews…but I don’t dare say more in case they see this 🙂 What I will say is that I was thrilled out of my mind when Santa offered to record a video with me for my nephews. I could barely sit still for it, they are going to LOVE it!!! I won’t post it here because I really want to be there when they see it for the first time, but here’s a picture…I have to say that Santa was a pretty cool guy.
I picked Bastien up in Fairbanks and we spent the next day there. We didn’t do much except to drive to Chena Hot Springs and see the ice museum and soak in the springs. Otherwise, we just enjoyed relaxing. We did have a phenomenal meal at a place called Lavelle’s Bistro in Fairbanks. It was ridiculously good and Bastien said he would go back to Fairbanks just to eat there. It was that good.
After Fairbanks we headed back around through Paxson to drive the old Denali Highway…135 miles and mostly unpaved but very scenic. I had used the google maps “attractions” search and found a cool ice cave/glacier (Castner Galcier) we could hike to along the drive. Wow, the hike, the scenery, the glacier and the…events were memorable.
Not only is the glacier actively melting, the movement is causing mudslides, rock slides and chunks of ice to fall off. Bastien climbed up to a cool spot and I decided to follow…until I looked around. I could see the rock/mud chute above me and thought about where the giant pile of boulders I was climbing on came from. Hmmm….these rocks down here came from up there…right above my head. I saw some small pebbles, water and mud bits actively coming down and thought that a big rock can come down at any moment. I decided to get the hell out of there and beat feet. I yelled to Bastien that this wasn’t safe, but I don’t think he heard me. As I scrambled down, a tourist from another country passed me, trying to follow Bastien. I told him, “this isn’t safe, you shouldn’t go up there.” He ignored me or he didn’t understand me. I learned later that he didn’t speak English very much at all. His wife/girlfriend also began to go up. I warned her, but she didn’t understand and kept going….
Well, it turns out I was very RIGHT about this being a dangerous spot! After I got to a safe spot, I turned around to look back at them. The guy was almost to Bastien, who was coming back down from his perch. The girl was about where I had been standing. I tried yelling to tell them to leave that area…
And then I saw it. A GIANT torso-sized boulder began rolling down the chute above their heads!!! Holy SHIT! I began to run and wave my arms, screaming as loud as possible, RUN! RUN! LOOK UP! Rock! Rock!
I got the men’s attention because they were turned towards me, but the lady was turned towards them. Bastien looked up, saw what was coming, and I saw the moment when he freaked out. He began waving his arms and yelling. The lady was DIRECTLY in the boulder’s path but completely oblivious to her impending doom. She heard the yelling, looked up, and saw this thing bouncing down the chute and coming right for her. She tried to get out of the way as fast as possible. She BARELY made it. She fell and leaned forward as much as she could as it went by behind her. Bastien was close and says he SAW the rock actually brush and push her backpack as it went by!! It was THAT close to total disaster. That thing probably would have killed her if she hadn’t moved. Thankfully, she was mostly ok but very shaken up afterwards.
What I learned: stop doubting myself and my instincts. Sure, on another day that may not happen and I would tell myself I was being over-cautious and silly to believe the risk was so high. But, I have an uncanny ability to “see” what can/may happen around me and I am learning to listen to it instead of dismissing it. Sometimes Bastien acts like I am being overly cautious and I sometimes feel like he sees me as paranoid. But, those who know me, you know that I have had a lot of weird things happen to me and seen things happen, and read about them too. Things DO happen…all the time.
It doesn’t mean you hide in your house, but it DOES mean you should be aware of your surroundings. LOOK and see the warning signs, judge the situation, and listen to your instincts. This incident just shows me that when I see the evidence of real danger and my body says – GO! Listen.
Once back in the car, we drove up the old Denali highway for a bit and then found a nice spot to pull over and camp for the night. AMAZING! The views steal your breath…and the mosquitoes steal your blood if you don’t bathe in DEET. But, the swarms of insects just added….character to the experience of the Alaskan bush. Here’s a few pictures from our camp spot…
We drove into Denali National Park and…it was ok. The bus tours are really a waste of money. Don’t bother. DO get the transit bus ticket that takes you into the park. Right now there’s a big rock slide that wiped out the road at mile 45, so that’s as far as you can go. Well, the bus stops at mile 43 and you can walk up the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the smoke from fires nearby made the air and visibility pretty poor. We also saw very few animals – but Bastien did finally get to see a moose.
The view from the landslide area at mile 45 on the park road.
The drive to Anchorage the next day included a stop in Talkeetna, mostly because my sister told me it was her favorite stop when she did a cruise tour years ago with my parents. It didn’t disappoint! What a neat town! We had just over an hour there because Bastien literally had a flight to catch! I would definitely enjoy a full day there if we had the time. We were so busy enjoying ourselves that I forgot to take any pictures, sorry.
Now, I am in a hotel in Anchorage. I needed a van break, some AC, a good shower, and good wifi. I have to say…it’s a basic hotel but it feels luxurious! I spent half the evening streaming Netflix. I was supposed to see my uncle here…but it looks like that won’t work out. 😦 I have an appointment to get the rock ding on Rosie’s windshield fixed this morning, and then I will head out. Not sure where I am going today, but I am heading in the direction of Haines to catch the ferry next week.
Karen`s trips, travels, insane stories, and not-so-insane thoughts(I hope!) 