Denali, AK - A Day in the RV - Kind of

Well, sometime along the way, we’ve got to spend some time in the RV - sometimes we get a bit tired. Sometimes we think we have some other projects to do besides touring. Sometimes, we run out of clothes. And, today is the day: I get to write some e-mails and some letters, Gary gets to do some laundry and we both get to do some sitting. Whew. We just took a time out and sat here for a day.

But in the afternoon, we took our usual walk and went through town, over the bridge at the south end of town and into the park - and back again. Saw some huge hotel/motel complexes. Seems that the cruise lines not only have the cruising locked up but by building hotels along the way and plastering their name on the side of the buses, have the tour business well in hand. Princess has it developed down to ta fine art: cruise, bus, hotel, park tour and then on to Fairbanks by train. Pretty clever. And, their name on all of it.

The drive up to it is about as spectacular - here’s a picture from our GPS. I’ve been on easier hikes than this.

And, of course there are the mirrors at each switchback.

Someone has a great sense of humor. Along with the speed limit signs, the curve signs and the mirrors, there are these signs.

Of course, this is a 2-lane gravel road - not a freeway.

Here’s a log from a tree with loads of burls. Many of the trees have burls up here and they’re prime for furniture.

And, I saw this online - as winter gets longer the feelings of a newcomer to Alaska change day by day. If I knew to whom to attribute this, I’d do it.

Living in Paradise

Jan. 10 5:00 P.M. It's starting to snow. The first of the season and the first one we've seen in years. The wife and I took our hot buttered rum and sat by the picture window, watching the soft flakes drift down, clinging to the trees and covering the ground. It was beautiful!

Jan. 11 We awoke to a lovely blanket of crystal white snow covering the landscape. What a fantastic sight. Every tree and shrub covered with a beautiful white mantle. I shoveled snow for the first time ever and loved it. I did both our driveway and our sidewalk. Later a city snowplow came along and accidentally covered up our driveway with compacted snow from the street. The driver smiled and waved. I waved back and shoveled it again.

Jan. 12 It snowed an additional 5 inches last night, and the temperature has dropped to around 11degrees. Several limbs on the trees and shrubs snapped due to the weight of the snow. I shoveled our driveway again. Shortly afterwards, the snowplow came by and did his trick again. Much of the snow is now brownish-gray.

Jan. 13 Warmed up enough during the day to create some slush which soon became ice when the temperature dropped again. Bought snow tires for both cars. Fell on my butt in the driveway. $145 to a chiropractor, but nothing was broken. More snow and ice expected.

Jan. 14 Still cold. Sold the wife's car and bought a 4x4 in order to get her to work. Slid into a guardrail anyway and did a considerable amount of damage to the right rear quarter-panel. Had another 8 inches of the white stuff last night. Both vehicles covered in salt and crud. More shoveling in store for me today. That darn snowplow came by twice today.

Jan. 15 -2 degrees outside. More blasted snow. Not a tree or shrub on our property that hasn't been damaged. Power was off most of the night. Tried to keep from freezing to death with candles and a kerosene heater, which tipped over and nearly burned the house down. I managed to put the flames out, but suffered second degree burns on my hands and lost all my eyelashes and eyebrows. Car slid on ice on way to emergency room and was totaled.

Jan.16 Darn blasted white snow keeps on coming down. Have to put on all the clothes we own just to get to the mailbox. If I ever catch the jerk that drives the snowplow, I'll chew open his chest and rip out his heart. I think he hides around the corner and waits for me to open our driveway again! Power still off. Toilet froze and part of the roof has started to cave in.

Jan.17 Six darn more inches of blasted snow and sleet and ice and God knows what other kind of white crap fell last night. I wounded the snowplow jerk with an ice ax, but he got away. Wife left me.

Car won't start. I think I'm going snow blind. I can't move my toes. I haven't seen the sun in weeks.

More snow predicted. Wind chill -62 degrees. I'm moving back to Albuquerque.