Everybody needs a day off sometimes, and most Girdwoodians need some time outside of Girdwood. It's nice to just have a different weather system every now and then! In addition, this was our "summer staff trip" of sorts- a time to relax and reflect. It also turned out to be a great weekend for ministry.
Our journey began on Sunday... we packed, tucked miscellaneous things we knew we'd want into the extra space (i.e. benadryl), loaded up, and began the drive from Girdwood to Denali National Park. The first night we camped at
Riley Creek Campground. Scott and Jenn will be moving south to California in September, and decided to test out a new tent. We weren't sure if the weather would be favorable in the morning, and we were on a tight schedule to make the camper bus out of the park (at 7am), so the four of us managed to fit in the one tent. And by managed to fit in the one tent, I mean, we had separate rooms it was so big! (Goltz family, it reminded me of the tent you guys have... we ended up calling this one the taj mahal too!)
After setting up camp (without rain! woohoo!), Scott and Jenn cooked up some lentil soup with a type of summer sausage ... yum! Camping tip: dried soup mixes from the bulk section is lightweight, easy to pack, easy to make, and super tasty and filling! After dinner and a few games, we were all out pretty quick. Early morning the next day...
We broke down the campsite (without rain! woohoo!) and packed everything up. We met the bus and climbed aboard. As workers in the hospitality and tourism industry, we are all familiar with the aggravation of being asked the same questions repeatedly, the frustration of ignorant tourists, and the dehumanization of serving and accommodating others. It's amazing how easily I can become the aggravating, same-stupid-question-asking, ignorant tourist when in a new and exciting place... ;-)
I was merely killing time taking some goofy pictures (trying to get one of all four of us by taking a picture of the huge rearview mirror) when the driver climbs aboard and semi-apologizes/semi-smirks at his stepping into the picture. I do not want to delay our departure (after all, I am familiar with how obnoxious it is when guest-servicing gets in the way of work-related tasks), so I start to put my camera away when he makes a show of stepping out of the way and encouraging me to go ahead and take it. SO I take it very quickly and then put it away. (No it didn't come out very well. Stupid automatic flash.) I see now that being caught in the act of touristy nonsense paired with my apparent understanding of things-not-to-be-caught-doing made me a target for the driver the rest of the day. He really was a delightful individual, but one I can only take so many "if you're late getting back on the bus we'll just leave you here" comments. (Not entirely the driver's fault, the rest of my traveling party was getting a kick out of the whole thing, too.)
Camper buses (carrying -you guessed it- campers as opposed to tourists) must usually carry people who are more knowledgable, familiar, and generally less excited by wildlife than tourists from out of state. According to our driver, campers tend to fall asleep and rarely see wildlife along the drive. Despite all of that, we managed to see quite a few wild animals roaming the tundra... moose, caribou, dall sheep, and brown bears, just to name a few of the ones we got pictures of.
The road is phenomenal; it is made up of dirt/gravel and the buses drive right on the edge in places. I am so glad I did not have to drive, and that the bus driver is good at his job! About every hour or so, there is a rest area... i.e. bathrooms and info stations / scenic views. This was so great- being able to get out, stretch our legs, etc. We stayed 10-15 minutes at 3/5, with a half hour stop at one scenic spot and an hour stop at the
Eielson Visitor Center (where Denali poked through the clouds for a little while). Scott and Jenn had planned our lunches for the bus rides- hummus, cucumbers, cabbage, and bean sprouts in a pita. It was so delicious! Way better than a pbj.
Our final stop was at
Wonder Lake Campground. Though it was mostly cloudy, overcast, and rain was threatening to fall, we set up camp (without rain! woohoo!) and decided to walk to the ranger station where we thought we might be able to catch up with our dear friend working in Kantishna.
This is the part of the trip where we all wish we had more information than what we did. The long and short of it... is that there was a lot of long and no short to it! The map we looked at clearly said it was 2.5 miles to the ranger station. Jenn is still recovering from her knee surgery, so even 2.5 miles was pushing it. Once we (finally) arrived at the ranger station, we discovered it was 3.5 miles. I talk to the NOT-AT-ALL-HELPFUL ranger wanna-be at the station (I say that with all the graciousness I can muster), to try to find out the best way to get in touch with our friend in Kantishna. After a few lectures about how the phone isn't for that purpose and how lucky I am that he is there, he lets me place the call anyway. We waste the next hour or so just sitting around the ranger station, trying to come up with the best way to get back to the campsite (Jenn could not walk that far on her knee!), before finally arriving at a decision to jump on another camper bus, hoping it would stop to pick us up, and get us back in the general area. It seemed we would miss seeing our friend in the park, unless the bus driver was able (and/or willing!) to give us more info. Fortunately, this 2nd driver seemed to have it all together. He informed us that there are so many buses that run at certain times EVERY day. As
campers with a reserved campsite,
WE CAN FLAG DOWN ANY OF THOSE BUSES FOR A RIDE. The buses have set stops with certain times to be by the stops, but they will pick you up and drop you off most anywhere if you flag them down. And get this, all the camper buses go the extra 10 miles to Kantishna. Wouldn't that have been great information to have FROM THE RANGER like an hour and a half ago?! We thought so. All in all, it worked out! We made it to Kantishna; I got to visit with my precious friend who I have missed like
crazy this summer. And, we even got to go to the "end of the road" - the furthest point you can travel into the park without being on foot. For anyone planning an Alaskan vacation, check out
Denali Backcountry Lodge. After checking out the site and amenities- I'm sure it is the place to stay if you don't want to blow up your mattress and pitch a tent for the night. While waiting on the last camper bus to pick us up from Kantishna and take us back to Wonder Lake, this huge downpour came. Fortunately, we were hanging out, staying dry! It was tough to leave Tara after such a short visit, but I can't wait to visit again...!
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| Wonder Lake Webcam (today just shy of midnight) |
Wednesday morning, we knew we had the option of catching an 8am bus or a 1pm bus and we opted to make that decision in the morning, based on the weather. Around 6:30 I woke up to rain on the tent... no one else was really up and moving so I rolled over and slept some more. The rain quit somewhere just after 8, and that's when we all were up and moving. 1pm bus it would be! Clouds began to clear, the sun came out, and we broke down our campsite (without rain! woohoo!). We walked down to the lake (a much shorter hike than the day before) and just played...relaxed...soaked up some sun...laughed...sang... it was great fun.
You'll see here on the left... Lexie dance-posing, Jenn yoga-posing, Scott capoeira-posing
And on the right... Lexie pretending to surprise-attack me for a picture, and then me actually surprise-attacking her instead :)
When the bus pulled in at 1pm, you'd never guess who the driver was. Or maybe you would.
He said, "It's you... You were on the bus yesterday."
"Your lucky day, friend!" was my reply with a smile.
I was a
bit lot more prepared for his 'humor'! We made it several "stops" with only a few campers on the bus before we picked up some tourists along the way. They were hiking with a guide who flagged down the bus... apparently they were treading too close to a mama bear (and cubs) for the guide's comfort. So on the bus they came. We started moving again, only to have them request that we stop so they could take pictures. A lot of things happened all at once. I remembered the bus driver's comments the day before about camper buses vs. tourism buses, I saw him roll his eyes, I felt my eyes roll because I just wanted to keep moving, not stop and break my neck trying to take pictures of sheep up the mountain... and I busted out laughing. So did Jenn. And Lexie. And Scott. But you know, I'm the one the driver liked to pick on, so he turns around a bit and tells me he'll make me get out and walk. I laughed even harder and (for once) quickly retorted... "That's fine, with this crew I'm sure I'll catch back up to you!" I even saw him crack a smile. With that, there seemed to be a mutual understanding reached... We all got a kick out of his dry sense of humor and his referring to people (slowly) walking in front of his bus as caribou (slow moving, not that bright)... it totally cracked us all up and became a theme each time we stopped. It appeared every slow moving person wanted to walk in front of him as we were trying to get back on the road.
We made it back to Riley Creek, and were able to once again set up camp without rain! woohoo! We stopped by the merc to buy oreos and milk (it's the simple things in life), showers ($4 includes your towel- totally worth it), and some wood for a campfire. We relaxed by the fire, and Scott cooked up this amazing chicken and pasta soup. (The normal noodles that go in chicken noodle soup all have egg- so Scott opted for pasta. I have great friends.) Awesome camp food! After cleaning up and stashing everything in the car, we all crashed hard. When morning rolled around, Jenn and I decided to grab some Starbucks from the merc and some doughnuts (would you believe they had some WITHOUT egg whites?!). We all chowed on coffee and doughnuts to fuel us through breaking down camp (without rain! woohoo!) and packing up the car. We were able to catch up with another friend who works there dispatching buses in and out of the park. It is always great to make those contacts, have that face time, and catch up with friends you haven't seen since the snow melted... With that, we headed south.
Several hours later, in Anchorage, we stopped to do a little grocery shopping before going home. We tore up the produce aisle! Back in Girdwood, Lexie and I got dropped off at our place, and we set to work on dinner. We ended up with chicken in a sun dried tomato marinade, fresh cooked zucchini, lima beans, and a spinach salad with strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a little cheese. Lots of greens... yum. As Lexie put it... "Scott's meals were REALLY great camp food... But this... this is really good NOT camp food!!"
With that, I was determined to post a few pics, get a blog post up, and share what I've been up to the past four days before calling it a night and going to work tomorrow. Mission accomplished.
Lots of changes are coming in the next two months (see Scott's post on the Facebook page). Even in the next three days... Sunday, Lexie heads back to Georgia. September 1, the Capshaws move to Tahoe. It will be a new, yet exciting season for Chugach Resort Ministries! I'll do my best to keep my blog updated. Feel free to
drop me a line anytime, I'd love to hear from you!
