Day 75 - Tuesday August 1/17

(Written on Wednesday August 16th, in the trailer, boondocking (free camping on public land) in the British Columbia just below the Northwest Territories border; Posted on August 30 at Battleford SK)

What kind of holiday is this? An alarm at 5:30 am? But it was well worth it. We had to be up early in order to be prepared for our full day outing in Denali National Park. At 6:50 we were the first people in line for the bus tour. The bus didn’t leave until 7:30 but we wanted to get a good seat.  And we did manage to snag the front seats on the bus! 

Our driver/guide was Sheryl. She had a way with cranky passengers, and knew the wildlife and history of the park like the back of her hand after 17 years of experience. Not only did we luck out with our guide, but we really scored with the weather. It was a clear sunny day that warmed up quickly. When we saw Denali – the highest mountain in North America - standing in all its snowcapped glory, we knew we were in for a terrific day. Sheryl told us that there had only been 4 days this season when Denali had been visible from bottom to top – and we got to enjoy one of them. (many photos)

Denali is 40 - 50 miles away at this point

The road to Denali ...

Closer ....

Closer...

Very close ... about 20 miles or so away

Denali – meaning ‘The High One” - was formerly called Mt McKinley as named by a prospector in 1896. It was only in 1980 that the mountain’s name reverted to the original Athabascan native name. “The Mountain” as it is known locally, is 20,310 ft high and can be seen from great distances - 40 to 50 miles away!

The road through the national park is 92 miles long from the Parks Hwy to Kantishna – a former gold mining location - but the public can only drive the first 14.8 miles (29 km). In order to see the fullest possible extent of the park we had booked the 13 hour “Kantishna Explorer Tour” which included snacks and lunch.

The bus trip was punctuated by ever closer views of Denali, river crossings, sheer cliff roadways barely wide enough for the bus (Sheryl, our driver, only partially joked when she said that 'all of the bus drivers take their half of the road out of the middle')(photo)

Another tour bus approaching us sharing the road with a caribou

Bus 'taking it's half of the road out of the middle'
1,000 foot vertical drop to the left

and wildlife sightings! We saw:
A porcupine

Many snowshoe hares
(no photos - they didn't hang around!)



Caribou – singly and in groups

A mother grizzly bear and her two cubs

The mom is the gold spot in the reground near the vegetation

Ermine, willow ptarmigan, ground squirrels (no photos - they darted across the road!)

A Park Ranger led us on two .5 mile hikes to show us artifacts of the gold mining days. One woman in particular, named Fanny Quigley, was a legend in the area dating from the Gold Rush of 1905 and 1906. Originally working alongside her husband to hunt and mine as well as cook and run the house, she took over full responsibility when her husband was injured in a mine tunnel collapse. Apparently there was nothing this pioneering woman couldn’t do. (photos) A real trailblazer and inspiration.

Fanny Quigley's cabin was in a place known as "Kantishna", which had been a small community in the Gold Rush days. it now marks the "End of the Road" into Denali national Park (photo)

We'll all reach "the end of the road" some day!!

On the way back on our bus tour, the driver stopped at the side of the road to give us opportunity for a unique experience - to go out walking on TUNDRA! It was very interesting - anywhere from a few inches to a few feet thick of springy moss, lichen, berry bushes  and shrubs growing on the scant soil on top of the permafrost. In some places it was so deep, thick and springy you could bounce up and down, and it felt like you could just fall into it like falling into a soft mattress. (photos)

One fun thing that Michael did during the Kantishna Explorer Tour was to work through the children's activity book in order to qualify as a U.S. National Parks Junior Ranger - and so he was inducted as a "Senior Junior Ranger"! What fun! (photo)

After 13 hours of touring we returned to Roscinante. When we checked our messages we learned that Nancy’s stepmother, Audrey Ambrose, had died that morning. Audrey was married to Nancy’s father, Chuck Tilston, for just 14 months, but Nancy was fortunate to have her in her life for 25 years. Audrey’s gentle calmness, sense of humour and peacefulness were an inspiration and source of support. She will be greatly missed in our lives.

Audrey Ambrose on September 21, 2011

A very sad ending to a memorable day of natural grandeur, but perhaps a very fitting way to remember Audrey.