Day 22: Fairbanks

We packed up camp today and said goodbye to Denali. I was so bummed to be leaving! But I don't think they'd let us stay forever, and come winter I think the tent would get a little cold. So away we went and a short drive later we arrived in Fairbanks.

The weather is beautiful here, very sunny and maybe hitting 70 degrees. Maybe. It could only be about 65 or so. But it's warm for me, and even Sarah is saying that it's warm. She'll get used to this never-gets-above-75 thing yet. We set up camp at the River's Edge Resort, and true to it's name, we're right on the Chena River. Like, maybe 10 feet from our tent is the river. Very very beautiful. We were visited earlier by a ducky family who was nice enough to stay a while and pose for pictures, which we gladly took.

We were feeling a little fresh fruit and veggie deficient since leaving Uncle Mike and Aunt Tami's, so we headed to the Safeway to pick up some stuff for a big veggie stir fry dinner. Wow! Veggies and fruit and expensive in Alaska! At least compared to California where I buy 10 for $10 avocados at the co-op and get fruit picked that morning from the farmers market.

But our dinner was good, and if not for horribly injuring myself, today would be a great day. When striking a match to light the camp stove, a bit flew into my eye, and a gallon of water plus several minutes standing in the shower holding my eye open in the water hasn't helped. I'm hoping tomorrow my eye will be better, because there's no way I can drive like this.

So I'm saying goodnight and will hope that tomorrow my eye is better.

Day 20 & 21: Denali is Beautiful

Our tour yesterday was amazing! The landscape here is beautiful, and we were able to see moose, caribou, a grizzly bear, tiny Dall sheep way up on the mountain sides, ptarmigans, a bazillion snowshoe hares, and a little red fox family with two adorable kits. We left camp at 3 pm and were out until almost midnight and traveled almost 54 miles into Denali National Park. I want to go out there every single day! I wish I had a better camera, one with many many more megapixels and a better zoom and one that will make every single picture I take come out National Geographic style. I love it here, and need to find out some way to make a trip up every week.... I'll have to start playing the lottery.

Needless to say, we slept in this morning. Last night when we got into camp it was only dusky; hardly dark at all. When I woke up at 4 A.M. (only God know why), it was already light out. I can't imagine what it is like on the flip side of the year with only a few hours a day of sunlight.

We have no plans today other than to shower, e-mail everyone and enjoy the day. I'm very very sad that we're leaving tomorrow.

Day 19: Denali!

We scooted out of camp first thing this morning, paused to do our laundry, and then hit the road for Denali National Park. It's so beautiful up here, I never want to leave. Sorry Uncle Mike and Aunt Tami, but I think if I'm going to move to Alaska it's going to be up here. Which would be quite the commute to the coast, but I digress.

Camp is all set up, and we're having Bengal Lentils, rice, and broccoli for dinner. I've never really considered myself a fan of Indian food, but this is pretty good. In a little bit we'll head over to the nature talk about Arctic ground squirrels, and then hit the sack. Tomorrow is our bus tour, which I hope will be a lot of fun.

Day 18: Anchorage

Well, we made it through the night safe and sound. Of course, this evening we had several more visits with weirdos, so now we're back on edge on wondering why the heck we decided to camp here (it was cheap!), but today wasn't all bad.

We had vegan pancakes and fake bacon for breakfast (first warm breakfast on the new stove, yay!), then went downtown to explore. There really wasn't too much to see, but we stopped in at the visitor center where everyone was friendly, and walked through the federal building (where the only weirdos were the two guards at the door). Afterwards, Sarah and I rode our bikes on the Tony Knowles Coastal trail. It's an eleven mile trail (I'm not even sure we rode two miles before turning around), and was very pretty, but it reaffirmed just how out of shape I am. I had to walk the bike up several of the hills, and by the time we were about a block away from our car (and at the bottom of the largest hill), I gave up and walked it the rest of the way. I think something might be wrong with the gears though, since it makes some pretty horrible noises when I shift and if I'm not in a low gear.

The restaurant that had been recommended to me was no longer serving food, but they sent us over to the Beartooth Theatre Pub, which by far has been the highlight of Anchorage. The food was excellent, and at least half the menu was vegetarian (with the option to add meat at an extra charge), and most were easily veganized. Sarah and I spent almost 20 minutes deciding what we wanted, and eventually we had to say "this is it" and not look at the menu anymore. We shared seven layer dip (except I don't think there was seven layers...I forgot to count), Sarah had the Veggie Bomber Burrito, and I had the Baked Veggie Sandwich with cremini and portobello mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts and left off the cheese. Sarah and I are both very happy campers and are looking forward to eating out leftovers tomorrow.

Day 17: Anchorage

Most of the people in the campground we're staying at are residents living in tents, and I'm worried about the group living a camp down from us. If it wasn't so late, we'd try to find some place else to stay, but tonight we'll just have to see how it goes. We did meet "Cute Vegetarian Guy" here, and gave him the names of the restaurants that were recommended to me as being vegetarian friendly. We tried to find where he was camped to ask if we could run to him if we needed help, but we couldn't seem to find him anywhere. Maybe if we walk around yelling "free vegan pancakes"....

Day 16: On the Road Again

Today was another very long, uneventful day of driving. We crossed into Canada from Haines and traveled through British Columbia and Yukon Territory until we crossed back into Alaska and arrived at Tok. It's not the most impressive place on Earth, but after 11 1/2 hours of driving, it'll do. Tomorrow should be a shorter day of driving and we'll be in Anchorage for two days.

Day 15: Setting Out Again

It was sad last night and today saying goodbye to everyone. I wish we would have had time to go see Uncle Mike at work before we left, but we ended up running a little bit behind and didn't get the chance. We restocked our supplies and repacked our car, and got on the ferry about 3:30 this afternoon. This ride was much shorter, and seemed even shorter than it was since Sarah and I watched a movie in the boat's little movie theater. There were more humpbacks, and they were closer, so we got to see them a little better. No good pictures of them though. We arrived in Haines about 9:30, and had to wait almost forty-five minutes to get checked into a hotel room. The room isn't worth what we paid, but we're not setting up camp this late, so I guess it works out.

Day 14: Fourth of July

After staying up all last night, Christina, Sarah and I went to the 4th of July parade with Uncle Mike, Aunt Michelle, Alex, Ivan and Henry. It was pretty good as far as parades go. The three boys got lots of candy, and I think the parade definitely got the point across that Alaskan's are against Measure 4.

Once we got back to Uncle Mike and Aunt Tami's house, people slowly started to trickle over for the BBQ. It was lots of fun visiting with everyone, and I wish we did more of this sort of thing back home. I'm ready for bed now though. Tonight is our last night here, and even though I'm sad that we're leaving so soon, I'm looking forward to continuing on with our adventure.

Day 13: Fireworks

I'm surprised I'm up so early today. Sarah and I had a long day yesterday, but it was a lot of fun. We walked through the State Museum then had lunch at a Japanese place around the corner. After lunch we walked downtown and shopped for several hours. In one of the little galleries we found some Holly Yashi jewelry, which is a local Arcata company. The world just keeps getting smaller and smaller.

When we got back Aunt Michelle and little Henry had already arrived. I think Henry may get the Cutest-4-Year-Old-I've-Ever-Met award, but I'm not sure. Christina, Sarah and I stayed up until midnight and went down to the docks to watch the fireworks. While someone did strip down and jump naked off the dock into the water, Christina said it wasn't nearly as rowdy as it had been in years past. The fireworks were awesome, and Christina was great company. I wish we lived closer so we could hang out more often.

In a little bit we're off to see the 4th of July parade. Should be lots of fun.

Day 12: Downtown

All of us, except Uncle Mike, went downtown today and did some window shopping. We ate lunch at a good Mexican place called El Sombrero (I think) and got dessert at the Alaskan Fudge Company, which we will have to visit again before we leave. We walked down by the cruise ships and I can't believe they're so big! I can't imagine seven of them docked here all at the same time!

When we got home, we all pitched in to get the house ready for Aunt Michelle's arrival. I must be a little home sick since I enjoyed cleaning so much! I'm secretly glad that Aunt Tami let us help clean, because it made me feel more at home and less of a "guest". Not sure if that'll come across the way I want it to, but trust me, it was a good thing!

Uncle Mike took the boy and us girls out to dinner, then we took Maggie for a walk out at the glacier. Alex and Ivan are so lucky they get to see this stuff everyday, although I'm sure they don't think so yet. Maybe when they make their great road trip they'll realize it.

Day 11: Uncle Mike's Day Off

Today was a day to get stuff taken care of and spend time with Uncle Mike on his day off. We got my bike tire fixed up, and found a second cigarette lighter in the car, and will have to buy a new camp stove since it costs almost as much for the replacement part as it does for a new one.

Uncle Mike drove Sarah, the boys, and I out to the NOAA facility (I'll be honest, I chickened out going to talk to them, but I still hope I can get a job or internship there someday), the Shrine of St. Therese (which was beautiful!), and to Eagle Beach. The whole area up here is so beautiful, and I wonder if someday I could live up here. I don't know if I could give up the redwoods though.