It was a long day of driving... after hearing the weather forecast of cloudy and rain for Kodiak Island and also the Homer area for the next day or so, I decided to head north in search of sunshine.... and I found a gorgeous sunny day in Anchorage and north... with temperature of 68 degrees, the small lakes were crowded with sun bathers, and even a number swimming in a small lake... others were out in shorts.
I slept late giving the weather a chance to develop, but at 7:30 I was pulling out and drove through Homer and up the skyline drive to the "bluff". Took one last look at the harbor area, spit, and mountains on the other side.. attempted a picture.. then left town headed north. When I woke up, the fisherman next to me were already on their way back out. They had come in late last evening and I watched them as they packed coolers with filets from their catch of the day. I assumed halibut, but could not be sure. Homer is a fisherman's paradise.
As I got closer to Anchorage, I took a detour to Portage, to see the glacier. There is a big park build around the Portage Glacier and an excellent information center offering films and displays to help you understand the formation of glaciers. This glacier was no longer very spectacular since it has receded around the side of the mountain where most of it was hidden from sight. Boat tours were available but since I had already done that at Seward, I passed and continued up the road. I wanted to get beyond Anchorage before I stopped, so I pushed north. It was such a great day for traveling, before I knew it I was getting close to Denali National Park. I took another side trip up the road to Talkeetna which is where I got my first view of Mt McKinley and the spectacular view of the Alaska Mountain range. Talkeetna is the Park center for mountain climbers, and the airport there has a number of services for taking them to the "base camp" where they would start. I talked to a gal that wanted to fly me around the mountain, but the tour started later than I wanted and ran close to $200, which included landing on a glacier. Talkeetna is a cute little town, old restored buildings it is touted to one of the few remaining Alaskan Villages... It definitely had a different clientele, younger and in better shape than the tourists I was used to seeing as they were preparing for an assault to the top of Mt McKinley... sitting in front of the espresso cafe spinning their yarns and getting rested for the climb... last year 420 climbers made it to the top, out of 1,166 that attempted. The youngest was 12 years old, the oldest was 71. They had some primitive camping sites in town, but I decided to push on.
As I headed north and came closer to the mountains, I was impressed with the enormity of this range, and Mt McKinley rising stately in the midst, but with the top lost in a cloud. I stopped and took a few pictures but then kept on driving until I arrived at Cantwell which is about 27 miles south of the Main Park entrance and information center. It was 6:30 and a long day so I stopped here for the night. Camping within the park is said be full, so if I can't find a place near the main entrance I may just return here tomorrow night. I plan to get to the Information Center early and try to get scheduled on one of the buses. The park is only accessible on buses.. and they can take you as far as 89 miles into the park and back on an all day trip. The camp ground host told me that they have been seeing grizzly bears every day on the trips. They are predominant in the park and frequently seen as they tend to inhabit the open country area.
Well, I found sunshine and warmer weather.... Maybe spring is finally here..
