Colorado: Part 2

Departing from Dillon, a few hours of driving brought us through beautiful landscapes in the countryside of Colorado, up and down mountain passes and winding alongside rivers.

On Distractions and Colorado

Well, here I am way beyond the point of ridiculousness… far behind on my blog posts!  I hate to even think about it, so I try not to.  I thought it was difficult keeping this blog up to date while we were on the road, but it has proven even more challenging at home.  Home is where life starts happening all around you again, generating a multitude of demands for your time and attention.  There has certainly been no shortage of such things ever since we got back.  Add to that my propensity for getting distracted, and this is the result.  Sometimes it makes me want to carve out a shelter under a fallen tree on a mountainside somewhere.  I could subsist on nuts and berries… take my chances with the bears, you know?  Of course, that would be the end of my blog, and I’d have to take up whittling or basket weaving – which wouldn’t be entirely bad.  Since I’m not quite to that point, I’ll pick up where I left off on my last post.  I have lots of other exciting things to share, too, so let’s do this!

Moving on, we left the Badlands and made a beeline to Colorado, the last remaining “must see” place on our list for this trip.  We stayed over one night in a hotel, which had a prairie dog town right next to the parking lot!  It was a short drive the next day to Dillon.

The Badlands – Beautiful Dry Hotness

We got out of Yellowstone ahead of the storm, passing familiar scenery for a little while before entering new territory.

Yellowstone – Round 2

On the first half of our big adventure, we skipped a few planned stops due to weather and vehicle repairs, and other stops were shortened due to weather as well.  Yellowstone was one of those, and a place we wanted to return to.  This put us far ahead of our original schedule, and the resulting “surplus” of time prompted our decision to see Yellowstone again on our way south.  We went back to the campground near Gardiner which was quite full, but we found a site and set up.  The campground host recognized the Jeep and came over to chat for a bit, and let us know where he’d seen a couple of bears, as well as where to get free drinking water – very nice and helpful of him.  We finished situating things and headed off for the park.  After negotiating the elk-induced traffic jam at Mammoth Hot Springs, we took the road east.

Hot Spot Hopping: Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Craters of the Moon, Yellowstone

The time had come for us to leave Mt. Rainier and set out for Mt. St. Helens.  While finishing packing the Jeep, we were graced with a brief visit from this Clark’s Nutcracker.

Blasting Through Canada

We packed up our gear and departed Eagle Trail just south of Tok, Alaska, making our way toward the Canadian border.  We were sad to leave Alaska behind, but vowed to return to this beautiful, enchanting place someday.  Hopefully that will happen in the not too distant future, and I suspect we’ll start daydreaming and planning for that trip shortly after this one is finished!  For now, though, we are fully present in this adventure as the events unfold.

The first day’s drive got us across the border and started us back along the famously jarring Alaska Highway to Whitehorse.  Crossing into Canada was again smooth and pleasant, and the officer we dealt with was quite friendly and helpful.

In our quest to find the hot dry air sooner rather than later, we would again make good time getting through Canada.  Kluane Lake in the Yukon was one of our favorite locations on this part of the drive; the lake seems to go on forever, and the surrounding landscapes are endlessly beautiful.

Alaska: The Last Frontier, But Not the Last Stop

After leaving the Homer area, we assessed our Alaska “to do” list, and the only thing left on it was the ferry cruise on the Alaska Marine Highway down to Bellingham, Washington.  Everything else we’d wanted to do and see in Alaska had been accomplished.  We still had three weeks before our cruise date, and we were trying to think of where to kill time without spending a ton of money.  The weather forecast for the coming week was rain pretty much everywhere in the state, which meant we would continue to be cold and wet, or part with a small fortune in order to be warm and dry.  Neither choice was satisfactory, so we went with option C – leave Alaska and begin the second half of our adventure.  The decision was fitting, since we’d been pretty much flying by the seat of our pants for most of the trip so far, in spite of the fact that Ken spent hours upon hours meticulously planning this trip for months in advance.  It was with both a tiny hint of sadness and the feeling of great anticipation and excitement that we left Alaska behind and set course for the unknown adventures that still lay ahead.  One thing we knew for sure was in our future was hot, dry air somewhere in the lower 48, and we were getting a little anxious to find it.  We practically drooled at the sight of every RV we saw since Glacier National Park, enviously aware that those folks were not at the mercy of the weather.  We stayed one last night in Anchorage in order to shower and re-stock our supplies, called and cancelled our cruise reservation, and got started toward Canada.

Rainforest Surprise: Finding Alaska’s Wet Spot

After a few days of staying dry and doing day trips, we decided to bite the bullet and get on with what we intended to do – camp in the wilds of Alaska in whatever conditions were presented to us.

Anchorage, Alaska: Wildlife in the City and Daytrippin’

We decided to stay in Anchorage and make a couple of day trips to other areas.  We did not even slightly enjoy Anchorage.  You see, we had finely honed our skills in finding the absolute worst section of town to stay in, and we’d practiced this almost everywhere we’d been.  I don’t think this mattered much in Anchorage – the whole city had an unsettling vibe to both of us (in contrast to Fairbanks which felt just fine).  Both hotels we stayed at were centered amongst a mix of the more treacherous elements of society, which kept us even more alert and vigilant than we already are normally.  The shady characters and their erratic behaviors we saw – loitering, random and not-so-random wandering, arguments, unintelligible mutterings to themselves – made me think I might rather take my chances with the bears!  Perhaps the Jeep was our saving grace, looking like a safari vehicle ready for the zombie apocalypse, with an axe and shovel mounted on the roof rack and who-knows-what on the inside.  At the very least, it doesn’t look like a vehicle that would be driven by gentle, timid, unsuspecting folks!  Arriving hungry and late in the day, we hastily chose a hotel on the fringes of downtown for the first night.  We promptly got out of Dodge in the morning, and proceeded to settle into our second hotel in the next expertly selected bad section of town.  Once that was accomplished, we drove to Eklutna Lake to see what the campgrounds were like, and it is a beautiful little spot.

Denali National Park and Preserve

Visiting Denali National Park was very high on our list of must-see places, and our excitement grew the closer we got.  We had beautiful sunny weather and stunning scenery all the way from Fairbanks to the park.

The Dalton Highway Adventure – Days 5-6: Deadhorse to Coldfoot to Fairbanks

As we were leaving Deadhorse Camp, I took pictures of our room and the outside of the building.  The accommodations were simple, yet sufficient and comfortable for their intended purpose.

The Dalton Highway Adventure Days 3-4: Galbraith Lake to Deadhorse; Prudhoe Bay, Arctic Ocean

Mosquitoes in Alaska are formidable, to say the least, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention them!  You don’t know what it means to have a mosquito problem until you’ve experienced the Alaska swarms.  Although they come in all sizes, most are huge… actually the mosquito is the state bird!  Normally when you venture outdoors, it will take a few minutes for the mosquitoes to pinpoint your location.  Well, these guys are anything but normal – they’re already there waiting for you, poised and ready to strike like an army of smallish but annoying blood-sucking vampires.  They don’t congregate in the woods like you might be used to.  No, this is the arctic tundra, baby!  It’s a permanently wet environment devoid of forest, and believe me, they make efficient use of it as their nursery and feeding grounds, right out in the great wide open.  They are also not as affected by cool temperatures as their southern cousins, enabling them to keep you company just a little longer.  Oh, and forget about sunshine hindering their activity.  They are ever-present, and with 24 hours of daylight in the summer, it’s a giant mosquito festival.  “Just use Deet repellant,” you say?  Don’t worry, even if they don’t get a blood meal, they can still lay eggs – they’ll just lay fewer.

The Dalton Highway Adventure: Days 1-2: Fairbanks to Coldfoot to Galbraith Lake

Starting in Fairbanks, Alaska, the ride up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay is 498 miles one way.  From Livengood, the actual beginning of the Dalton, approximately 25% of the road is paved, and in the summer, the rest is gravel, dirt or mud depending on the weather.  It is strongly recommended to bring two spare tires, and to carry extra gas for the 239 mile stretch between Coldfoot and Deadhorse where there are no gas stations.  Although not recommended, many people travel the road on motorcycles and bicycles.  The feeling of accomplishment after such a feat must be incredible.  I know it felt pretty awesome for us doing it in the Jeep!  The road is challenging and beautiful, and the best way to avoid catastrophe and enjoy the journey is to first do your homework and don’t approach it casually.  Once you’re traveling, just take your time.  For more detailed information about the Dalton Highway, traveling on it and considerations to take before embarking on this journey, take a look at this page on the Bureau of Land Management website, where you will find a very thorough downloadable PDF guide.

Our first day on the Dalton was grey and wet most of the time, but still provided some interesting scenery.  The road parallels the Alaska Pipeline for a good portion of the distance, and there are numerous access points for pipeline maintenance along the way.

Entering Canada, Driving the Alaska Highway

Crossing the border into Canada went very smoothly.  They asked a series of questions, we declared our two rifles and made sure we had them stowed according to their laws.  Since we had filled out our paperwork for the rifles ahead of time, the process was simple and painless, and the officers who dealt with us were very pleasant.

Our first day of travel in Canada was uneventful.  We were still in fairly civilized territory, so the paved roads were in pretty good shape.