Tundra Wilderness

Yes! we really came this close to the Griz!

At 1:00 a.m. I was awakened by the sound of heavy rain on the roof of our little cabin. I could hardly believe it! After three days of rain it had only cleared up late yesterday and now it was pouring again. Fortunately by the time we awoke the sky was only overcast and outside of a rare sprinkle the entire day would be mostly dry. I had a crazy, crazy dream that A and I were watching an eagle swoop down and attack a bear chasing caribou. Weird. Have I been in AK too long? Nevertheless we were woken very early by an alarm going off, which we think had something to do with the septic system at the campground. I don't know what that was all about. We had to get out really early to make the 6:50 a.m. bus loading, so without breakast we readied ourselves and headed to the W.A.C. Grabbed the required cup of coffee and waited in line outside to board the bus. There was mass confusion and dozens of people didn't know where to go and no one seemed to be in charge to direct the people traffic. Finally a ranger came out to straighten the lines up and pointed out that anyone on the Wonder Lake tour should line up to the left of the waiting area, which was currently free of people. Some choker all decked out in striped gym pants and white sneakers hears this and leaps over a rope and almost tackles a couple of blue-haired old ladies while bolting to the front so he can pick out the best spot on the bus. Truly ridiculous. By 7:10 a.m. we were on our bus and where our tour guide, "Tom Turk," introduced himself to us and us to what he called "the Wilderness." Tom had his very own style in presenting his interpretation of the park and its history. Our trip brought us deep into the park and its wilderness as we traveled 62 miles beyond the Visitor Center. The entire forest and tundra here was in full blown autumn colors, with gold and red everywhere. Even with the clouds it was bright and beautiful. Tom trudged along and got us a load of wildlife sightings that included distant mountain dwelling Dall Sheep and a bear that we could have run over with the bus! Also got a glimpse of golden eagles, three passing caribou, snowshoe hares, and a marmot. Well, I didn't really see the marmot (and neither did anyone else on the bus except the lady who mumbled/yelped "MARMOT" so that Tom would stop the bus to make sure we didn't miss it). Along the way we snacked on the contents of our park-prepared box lunches, which included a tasty little pack of reindeer sausage! Yes, tasty reindeer. I always liked Blitzen, or was it Prancer? As we rolled along the road we crossed a few braided rivers. Tom cleared some things up for me about how rivers run in Alaska. Since the ground is mostly permafrost, the river water doesn't cut down into the ground surface as does a river such as the Colorado; instead, the water can flow only at the surface and instead ends up cutting a very wide path from side to side as it separates into new streams (braids) each season as the water flows along the path of least resistance. The river beds look like they're dried up, or that the water levels of the river are low, but what's actually happening is that the rivers constantly change their paths. The highlight of the tour of course was getting the opportunity to view Mt. McKinley (Denali) 20,230 feet above sea level and the highest elevation point in North America. The view was awesome and the only thing that took away from it was THE GUY WHO TOOK A CRAP RIGHT OVER A HILL where the tour busses parked. Yes, we had a Denali Dooker! So much for keeping wilderness wild and leaving no trace. We all got back onto the bus and prepeared for the repeater 62-mile ride back, looking out onto the other side of the road. I kept scanning for critters in spite of the urge to sleep and most of the people on the bus were already out cold. After leaving the park we headed further north to Fairbanks some 200 miles away. Hit some road construction on the way up and since we were in AK, there were no roads other than the highway we were on so it couldn't be avoided. When we finally got into town it was a real chore to find the hotel, which was on a street that wasn't labeled on any of our maps. Nice. Eventually we settled in and decided to eat at Soapy Smith's, one of the only three restaurants listed in the hotel's dining guide. Drove up to the place, stepped inside, noticed only two people dining and did an immediate about face walk-away. We next headed over to choice number 2, called the The Castle. There were cars in the parking lot, so that was a good sign--we thought. I should have known what I was walking into here when H and A smartly ordered simple $12 meals (caesar salad; chicken nuggets), but nooooo. Even though the main entrees were all over $30, I went for the special: crab-stuffed fillet with Bernaise sauce and garlic mashed potatoes with fresh steamed vegetables. Within a few minutes the saddest salad I have ever seen arrived, consisting of a single cherry tomato and the very dark green outer leaf of a Romaine head. The writing was on the wall for my main course. Then, 50 minutes later, our meals arrived. The medium fillet was better than well done, grey all the way through. Either the crab or the Bernaise tasted like moldy cheese, the fresh veggies were obviously of the frozen-bag type, and my garlic mashed miraculously turned themselves into the best thing on the plate--french fries. Oh, and our first round of drinks consisted of three beers, all flat. How do you serve flat bottled beer?? Back to the hotel after another trip to the grocery store, I grabbed a little bottle of Knob Creek and we shared a six pack of Alaskan Ambers in the room, thereby washing away the saddest dinner ever.