Lost in the Land of the Aardvarks (large RV's, Tour Buses, and Caravans)

“I am alone in the land of the Aardvarks. I am walking west and all the Aardvarks are going east.” (with apologies to Eugene McCarthy)

Butch, ready for a 12 hour ride

 

Our choice, to leave Southeastern Alaska and go north into the Yukon and Northwest Territories, removed us from the summer migration of the Aardvarks (see definition above) for weeks. We have not had to compete for campsites and have had as much vastness and solitude as anyone could want. We saw our first Caravan in Dawson City the day that we left.

All that stopped in Fairbanks. We were very fortunate to get a spot at Chena River State Recreational Park, which was shaded and spacious. We stayed for four days getting cleaned up and stocked up. We went to Pioneer Park but found that after visiting authentic villages like Eagle, Inuvik, and Tuk, it lacked appeal. We didn’t want to ride on the river boat or go to the salmon bake again either especially since there was no place to park. We did have a great time at the wonderful Museum at the University of Alaska and the impressive exhibits at the Visitor’s Center downtown. 

We continued to Cantwell on Saturday, driving south on the George Parks Highway toward Denali National Park. This is a very scenic road, often following river valleys and with expansive views to a circle of mountain ranges. Cantwell is about 30 miles south of Denali National Park and we chose to set up our base camp there. The private campgrounds outside the Park are uniformly awful and we were too late for reservations inside. We did stop to make our reservations for the Kantishna shuttle bus on Monday.

We also chose Cantwell because in 2013, we used the 135 mile unpaved Denali Highway to drive to Paxton to start our trip home. This area is fabulously rich geologically, but we were pulling the TT and couldn’t stop much.  This time we could take the 4x4 truck and explore the first 35 miles or so. (Which we did).

Kantishna is the little resort/mining village at the end of the 92 mile Park Road. Private vehicles cannot drive into Denali past Mile 14 and even tour busses and shuttles are limited after Mile 67. The bus to Kantishna requires reservations and is a 12 hour ride, minimum. It is a Blue Bird school bus manufactured in Fort Valley, GA. Need I say more? It was the high point of our trip three years ago and scored right up there once again.

At 7:30 that morning it was raining, had rained all night. Our driver assured us that animals are often more active on overcast days and was she ever right! It stopped raining within the hour and the clouds hung out just on top of the near mountains. This is not an issue in Denali since the “bowl” of the interior is so immense and the light was excellent. We saw many grizzles, caribou, moose, sheep, small mammals and birds, and two fox that should audition for Comedy Central.

 One determined little Mama Fox had two Arctic ground squirrels in her mouth and was trotting purposefully down the middle of the road. She was totally unconcerned about the presence of a huge bus full of people and refused to move to the right (or left) as slow traffic should do. The driver is not allowed to “alter her environment” in any way (such as blowing the horn) and is not allowed to approach closer than 40 yards. If the animal had seemed stressed, she would have had to stop completely. Believe me; this Mama was feeling no stress. She was a fox on a mission and we could just s….. it up! Finally, another shuttle bus appeared from the other direction. Now Mama Fox was sandwiched between the two, our bus slowly moving forward, the other bus slowly backing up. 

Mama Fox

 

Inside the bus we were supposed to be quiet but there was lots of muffled giggling going on. Finally….Mama veered to the left and passed the on-coming bus. They passed us but we continued to follow the fox until she found her spot and left the road. Our driver assured us that this was not a case of animal acclimation (to the noise of the bus) as they rarely see fox. 

Hours later as we were returning, we encountered another fox. Also a female, she was being harassed by a magpie. She didn’t want to yield to on-coming traffic either but she and the magpie were having a time of it. The bird would not let her stop, so she had to keep moving on. The bus was the least of her problems! Again, she finally found a spot and left the road.

Fox # 2

 

We didn’t see The Mountain on the tour but Butch and I are already members of the “30% Club” and were not concerned. Our faith was rewarded the next day as we drove south toward Talkeetna. Tuesday was one of those clear, cloudless days when you can see Denali for over 100 miles. 

Talkeetna is really the closet community to The Mountain and is the jumping off place for climbing exhibitions, river trips, and an opportunity to ride the last “flag stop” train in Alaska. Some claim it was the inspiration for the TV series, Northern Exposure. It is a cute little village with lots of restaurants and gift stores but the locals work hard to keep things sane. 

There is only one campground and it is always full so I felt so lucky to get reservations, until we got here and found out there had been a communication problem. John, the manager, and I are not sure who got the dates wrong but I readily accepted responsibility. They offered us a spot in front of the porch to the office area with a household electric hookup and a water faucet. We took it and we are fine.

"Overflow" Camp site

 

Today we took the 130 mile (roundtrip) jet boat tour up the Susitna River to Devil’s Gorge. Again, we saw Denali off and on all day as well as great views of the Alaska Range. Walt Blackader made the first kayak descent of Gorge in 1972. There have been a few more descents since then but the remoteness, length, and difficulty makes it one of the most challenging whitewater runs in North America. Steve MaHay, the owner of the tour company had a first ascent in a specially designed jet boat but they could not come back down river with it. There are said to be two very expensive jet boats buried in the rocks up there. 

Me, in Devil's Canyon

We leave for Anchorage tomorrow where I will see my dear friend, Carol; again she is Scott and Stephen’s Godmother and my friend since undergraduate days. Yesterday I made reservations for us to board the BC Marine Ferry at Prince Rupert on August 7, to “sail” to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. So, the end is in sight but still a long way off.