Denali National Park

 

We spent June 28 – 30, 2012, at Denali National Park, a huge wilderness area with lots of wildlife, the imposing Mount McKinley, and limited access by road.  We saw the McKinley mountain range but McKinley hid  behind the clouds during our visit.  We enjoyed the exhibits at the Visitor’s Center and took the Tundra Wilderness bus tour which continues past the limited road open to the public. 

             

             

Our tour guide/bus driver did a great job of spotting wildlife and informing us about Alaska. At one point, she stopped on a bridge and said, “Look up the river.  You can go 1500 miles without seeing any signs of civilization.”

                       

Our first “wildlife” was Alaska’s state bird, the ptarmigan – actually mama ptarmigan and her brood along the side of the road.

              

Shortly, we spotted Dall sheep on the rocky hillside where they adeptly climb, staying away from most of their predators. 

               

               

                     

                

                

                     

Of course the scenery was as awesome as the wildlife but we saw only a small sample of the vast expanses of Denali with its snow capped mountains, rivers, and winding roads.

       

       

      

      

We were fortunate to see grizzlies a couple of times including a mama grizzly with two cubs.  We viewed them from a distance but we weren’t unhappy with that. 

                  

                  

                    

                    

                    

At one of our stops on the Tundra Wilderness Tour, we checked out some good-sized discarded antlers from the park’s inhabitants.  And later on we saw caribou. 

                            

                            

                   

While we were at Denali, we stayed at McKinley Chalet Resort, a large complex with many lodge buildings and a central shopping and dining area which was reached by shuttle vans which occasionally required some waiting.  It was a nice resort employing many students, both U.S. and foreign (especially from Easter European countries). 

       

                  

Alaska Rail to Denali NP

 

Alaska Railroad is a great way to see the sights of Alaska, and since George especially likes (loves?)  trains, it was a no-brainer to take Alaska Rail from Fairbanks to Denali.  We enjoyed the ride and the views and will share some with our readers.  (Double click on the photos to enlarge them).

           

             

              

           

           

 

One of the highlights of the Alaska Railroad Goldstar service was the open observation  platform on the upper level of the Goldstar car which gave great views of the scenery and kept us out of the showers (mostly).  Cruise ship cars have a similar platform on the lower level. We ate lunch on the train and arrived at Denali in the afternoon as rain ended and the sun began shining.

              

            

             

North to Alaska

 

Our summer adventure this year was a trip to Alaska – minus our motor home and Tina.  We flew to Seattle on June 26, 2012, and to Fairbanks the next day, seeing amazing scenery even before we landed including these glaciers in the Yukon.

                    

                                   

While in Fairbanks, we enjoyed the Riverboat Discovery tour of the Chena River which included interesting sights and history of Alaska. 

            

Since many locations have no roads, individuals travel in their planes, landing on water as seen here.  

                

The Riverboat Discovery passed by the home and training area of the late Susan Butcher, 4 time winner of the Iditarod, the 1100 mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome.  Her husband spoke about her love for her dogs, and we saw a demonstration of harnessing and running the dogs.

           

The boat stopped for a tour of a re-created Chena village showing the life of the Athabascan native people in the past including a typical building, drying fish (for themselves and their dogs), the elevated building for storing that food, and a display of a handmade parka.

          

  

           

Back at the lodge, Pike’s Waterfront Lodge that is, Irene greeted the moose outside the lodge and George paused by the sign for the start of the 2003 Iditarod.

           

                   

St. Petersburg–Our last Florida destination

 

Our winter 2012 trip is drawing to a close as we arrive in St. Petersburg, our last Florida destination before we head home.  Our “entrance” to St. Pete is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a cable stayed bridge crossing Tampa Bay. George will always remember when his aunt who lived in St.Pete sent him a copy of the local paper reporting on the collapse of the old bridge in 1980 with cars and a Greyhound bus on it.

                   

                   

After our arrival at the St. Petersburg KOA, on Wed., we went downtown for Irene to see the Chihuly Collection, a stunning, permanent collection of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly’s unique glass artwork.  This presentation is unique as it is the first installation of Chihuly art in a building designed specifically for that purpose, and it’s located on the city’s waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg. 

                 

Having seen three glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly including “End of Day Tower” at the Fairchild Botanic Garden in Miami (blog post of Jan. 26, 2012),  Irene was eager to see this collection which was breathtaking.  Photography of the collection was not allowed, but the Florida Rose Crystal Tower outside the building (above) and bowls in the collection store (below)could be photographed.

           

While Irene was enjoying a guided tour of the Chihuly Collection, George was busy planning the next day’s bicycle ride.  On Thursday morning we returned to the waterfront area.and rode along the bay through waterfront parks and enjoyed the beauty of the city and the parks. 

                

We ate lunch outside at Moon Under Water overlooking the park and bay.  Very nice!

                        

After lunch we continued our ride along the North Bay Trail which took us by marinas and some grand homes in the historic Old Northeast neighborhood . 

                 

Of course, we had to stop for ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery.  On our return we passed by the city’s palm arboretum and took a quick look at the extensive collection of palms.  It was a very enjoyable day.

                     

On Wednesday, our last day in Florida, we set out to bicycle at Honeymoon Island State Park near Dunedin which juts out into the Gulf. However, we encountered high winds which caused us to seek a more sheltered place. In nearby Dunedin we found an interesting  green market and enjoyed a nice bike ride along the Gulf.

        

We love the old Florida boom era hotels, so were pleased to see the Fenway Hotel and to learn that it too is being restored to its original purpose.

                 

After the ride we returned to Dunedin for lunch and our choice was immediately confirmed when we spotted Casa Tina Mexican restaurant.

       

Our last biking venue of the day,and sadly, of the trip was the Clearwater Beach beach walk, a new wide curving concrete walking/biking path that is really revitalizing Clearwater Beach. As we approached the beach area, the prominent Regency Hyatt caught our attention and we wound up biking past it on the beach walk.

Irene gets a bike wash below:

                     

                 

                 

George used to come to Clearwater Beach in the sixties and was totally amazed at the extent of development in the last fifty years.

It has been a great two month trip. We have covered both coasts of Florida and have biked a good portion of the best bike paths along the way. No more short jaunts now as tomorrow and Sunday we will be booking miles on the way back home, stopping in Valdosta to visit Irene’s niece and her family. The coach has performed up well on this trip with only a few minor issues to address when we get home as we do a “turn around” in preparation for another trip back to Valdosta for a flower show and then to Asheville to a rally of our Country Coach club.

                 

Tina says, “Where do we go next?”