Unspoiled

The overlook

Unspoiled by men

Untouched

Untamed

Not colonized, not commercialized, not civilized

Just natural beauty

Pristine

Wild

No sign of humans

No roads, no railroad tracks, no pathways or trails

No buildings, no bridges, no power lines, no cell towers

Nothing to interrupt or interfere with the beauty of nature

Simply unspoiled

Life on the road, life at Denali

Location: Rainbow Village RV Park, McKinley Park, Alaska

Outside: Raining. Again.

Miles traveled: None today or this week. We are just parked behind the shops along the boardwalk.

Walked: Here and there and everywhere in the canyon and in the national park

Hubby is: typing

Milestones:

• Two weeks ago today we arrived at Denali
• Four weeks ago we were camped by the ocean in sunny southern California just heading out on this middle stretch of our epic journey
• Six months ago we were starting to move into the RV and preparing for the big trip

Recent happenings: Copious amounts of rain resulted in mudslides and flooding yesterday. One slide here just above the canyon brought a tree down on power lines cutting off the electricity all along the boardwalk for 3 1/2 hours. Flooding in the national park washed out chunks of the road leaving tourists and staff stranded in buses at the end of the remote highway until helicopters could rescue them

Unexpected: so much rain and such cold temps. Not sure why this surprised me - except that it is late June

Other surprises: Lots of snow on Mt. Healy

Discoveries: the General Store that carries lots of little necessities - for a price!

Makes me smile: Hearing the train as it comes through the canyon

Makes me sad: Such limited internet access

Makes me drool: pulled pork at the Black Bear

Blessings: my winter coat found in the cargo hold - which makes a great raincoat, our cozy rig, close proximity to the Black Bear where I can get internet access AND see my daughter

Reading: History of Alaska - Land, People and Events.  (Thanks, Karina!)

Watching tonight: Probably nothing much. Maybe a little channel surfing. My excitement last week about finally having TV reception after four years without has quickly dwindled into disappointment at the lack of anything worth watching.

Considering: whether to make the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Fairbanks for supplies or just get by with what we can get here in the canyon and give up an arm and a leg to pay for it.

Accomplishments: I finally took time to find the addresses and write little notes on that pile of postcards I've been collecting. AND I took them to the post office!

Lessons: People are often more interesting that they might originally seem.

Looking forward to: Stacy coming in two weeks!

Tourists and schedules

Thousands of tourists come to Denali. Most of them will be here for two or three days - or maybe a week. There are lots of things to do and see around here. You can take a flightseeing tour to Mt. McKinley or you can even land on a glacier. You can go white-water rafting or ride horses. You can hike for miles in just about any direction. You can shoot pictures of amazing wildlife up close and personal. You can walk the boardwalk and stop at all the gift shops finding the perfect souvenirs and trinkets. You can try a variety of menus if you care to go out for dinner - or attend one of the dinner theaters in the canyon.

The typical tourist has to keep moving - in order to see and do all that he/she wants to see and do - and in such a short time.

But it's raining again today. Not great weather for being a tourist. Especially if you spent all those dollars and traveled all those miles to see the tallest mountain in North America, which happens to be obscured by clouds two days out of three.  However it might not be raining down there at the mountain. It is, after all, over 60 miles away - so it could be clear there. So maybe don't rule out the idea. Besides the other tourist-y stuff is not quite as much fun in the rain either.

But when you have only three days, you need to do what you came to do, rain or shine.

We, on the other hand, aren't really tourists. We can afford to relax because we don't have to see it all and do it all today and tomorrow - or even by the end of the week. We will be here awhile. So when it starts raining again, we can just curl up on the couch with a book and enjoy the cozy sound of the rain on the roof of our trailer. Ahhh...

We have the luxury of time. We might not have the luxurious accommodations at the resort lodge nor do we even have a fancy campsite. But we have our home on wheels and we have most of the conveniences that we really need. (See what I did there: equating convenience with need - as good Americans tend to do?) We have options. We can dig out our rain gear and go for our walk in the rain if we choose to - or we can just stay inside and enjoy the raindrop symphony.

We made it to Denali!

Oops; I haven't posted here yet - since we arrived at Denali. I guess I made good on my promise to take a few days off and not feel responsibility for anything. And they have been good days. We were able to park our rig right outside the back door of the Black Bear Coffee House where Wendi works. What fun to be able to pop over here and see her face anytime when she was on duty. I quickly got in the habit of bringing my computer over here for my early morning writing. Wendi supervises the morning shift so it has been great fun to watch her in her world. It was really special to be close enough that she could step over to our trailer for her lunch break.

Alas; that was only for the first few days and now we have had to move a few sites farther down the street - in order to get a long-term discount on the lot rent. It is not quite so handy nor as much fun but still pretty convenient and easy to get to the Black Bear.
Now that we are settled in for the next month we can figure out our schedule for our time here. Each new place invites a new normal.

Thankful Thursday... What a day!

A momentous day. A day of accomplishments and gratitude.

First, we drove 50-some miles through horrible road conditions including bucking-bronco-bumps and roller-coaster-dips and cavernous potholes - as well as sitting for large chunks of time waiting for the pilot car to come and lead us through the muddy yucky construction zones. I'm thankful that nothing in (or on) our rig seems to have been damaged through the turbulence.

Then we made it to the American border and were welcomed by a very cheerful and friendly border official. Once we had cleared customs, we were immediately thankful for the improved road conditions. Smooth pavement. Bona fide guard rails. How comforting.

Next we made it to the official end point of the Alaska Highway, Delta Junction. What an accomplishment. Mostly I am just thankful to have survived that. So much of it is breathtakingly beautiful, but so much is also just plain breathtaking scary and downright dangerous. I really wish I never had to go on that highway again. *Sigh.* I guess we'll have to see about that.

Last but not least, this day is momentous because it marks 43 years of marriage. I'm thankful for my amazing man and for the adventure of these years together. By the way, it doesn't always have to be fun to be an adventure so I am all the more grateful that so many of these have been wonderful and fun.

One evening during college Bob told me he thought he could be happy with me in Alaska. To my ears that seemed like a significant moment in our relationship - because it seemed to imply that we could be happy anywhere. Well, here we are. Celebrating 43 years together. In Alaska. And he says he is happy with me in Alaska. I guess he was right those many years ago. And I'm happy about that.

And so very thankful.