EMAILS FROM ALASKA
SENT FROM SURF CITY, ANCHORAGE
MILE 1350
From: Pam Rentz
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 21:32:27 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: MILE 1350 Back in Anchorage
Howdy Everybody:
Last dispatch. We're back in Anchorage. We leave tomorrow at 7pm.
What a great adventure. Denali Nat'l Park is amazing. We took the 8 hour bus tour into the park. Excellent weather. We did get to see the mountain (also while driving in) which was great but we got skunked on wildlife. Esp. after hearing other folks about all the critters they saw. We saw stuff but always from about a million miles away. Sorry but 2 little brown blobs frolicking on the hillside (grizzlies) doesn't excite me that much. Also saw Dall Sheep and a couple of caribou which I think are not very smart. They were at the visitor center looking in the window. (watching TV?) No moose -- I'm glad we saw those 2 on the Kenai. Also saw Golden eagles and eaglets. And lots of bugs. Those mosquitoes have bitten the heels of my palms, my knuckles and my feet -- I guess that all-natural deet-free and incredibly fragrant bug lotion I got worked in some places.
We stayed at a B&B which is the home of an Iditarod racer. Got to meet the dogs -- all 30 of them. You should hear them howl. Like in the middle of the night which is still very light. Huge personalities, hysterical to watch. One puppy -- he's training to be a media star.
Went from Denali to Fairbanks. How can I describe my opinion of Fairbanks diplomatically? If you are planning a trip and wondering if you should squeeze Fairbanks in -- I'd say, go ahead and skip it. We did the Univ. of AK museum which was good and watched the Inua show which demonstrated the sports for the Eskimo Olympics. Fascinating but some of those things could only be invented by people who have no sunlight from Nov. 15 to Jan. 21st. We also went to Alaskaland which I think was the inspiration for WallyWorld.
Drove through North Pole -- 200 foot tall Santa. Santa's Fireworks stand (I am not making this up) and the Catholic church is called St. Nicholas.
Fairbanks to Paxson -- excellent quiet little cabin on the lake. A little rain. Today Paxson to Anchorage -- LONG ride. Overall bumpy road --not like gravel and not like potholes -- like 10 foot seas. Long stretch of road repair -- gravel. And millions of RVs driven about 20 mph by cotton tops. (elderly folks). It took forever. [Aside to Uncle Barry -- so which exactly are the FEDERAL highways?]
We've done the B&B thing since we left Anchorage. I can see the attraction from a fiscal perspective but otherwise I'm not sold on the idea. It's like paying for an experience that I've endured many times for free. Like the first time you go to meet a boyfriend's family over Thanksgiving break. You are in a stranger's house and trying to stay out of the way and worry about making noise and you've got kids fighting and a dog eating your shoelaces and a cat jumping in your lap and you have to try to explain your breakfast eating habits, which I'm sure to some people seem unreasonably particular, but to me who is used to them seem perfectly normal. Overall I prefer the anonymity of a hotel.
Alaska is a great place but definitely different. As Chuck Klemer, our Denali bus driver put it: Only in Alaska would a well-armed, alcoholic socio-path be described as a colorful character. Actually we haven't met any obvious alcoholic sociopaths but I can see the potential.
That's all for this trip. I have tons of notes so I'll put stories on my webpage in the next couple weeks (hopefully).
Seeya,
Pam
Posted: 4.24.99
http://www.pamrentz.com/pampage/alaska/p3.html