The Bus Ride Didn't Disappoint

Grizzly Bears

Our 90-mile bus ride from Kantishna back to the Visitor's Center did not disappoint.  Besides more great weather and being able to see Denali, we saw lots of wildlife including grizzly bears, caribou, and dall sheep.  

A fantastic finish to our Denali adventure.

A Herd of Caribou

Dall Sheep high up the mountain

Into the Wild

Staying at the lodge in Kantishna gives us the best of both worlds — we’re deep inside the park surrounded by nature and very few people, but we also have a bed, shower, and three meals a day.  Apologies to everyone who loves to camp, but that is not in my DNA.  Love to be outside and hike all day, but I want a comfy bed to sleep in.

Skyline Lodge has mountain bikes to use so our first adventure was to ride about five miles over to Wonder Lake.  There’s a single 92 mile-long gravel road inside the park that stretches from the park entrance all the way to Kantishna.  Private vehicles aren’t allowed — only Park Service Buses use the road — so no worries about traffic.  We were the only ones out on the road which made it seem like we had the entire park to ourselves.  It also helped that we’re still adjusting to Alaska time and we were out at 5:00am.

When conditions are right, Wonder Lake provides a beautiful reflection of Denali and the entire Alaskan Range.  On average, Denali is only visible one every three days.  Because it’s over 20,000 feet, it is frequently shrouded in clouds and can create its own weather patterns.  We’ve been blessed with fantastic weather and Denali has been clearly visible two days in a row.  We were treated to fantastic views of the mountain almost the entire bike ride.  Although the water was not perfectly still, we were able to capture fantastic reflections in Wonder Lake.

Even though we were traveling a fairly well-used road, we saw many reminders that we are out in the wilderness.  We passed fresh bear tracks and random piles of scat.  Even though a bear encounter is unlikely, it does happen and you need to carry bear spray with you at all times. 

Later we did a four-mile hike up to Quigley Ridge.  It is super steep from the outset, gaining 1,200 feet in less than a mile and was probably one of the steepest trails we’ve done.  At the top we were treated to 360 degree views.  We could make out Denali in the distance, but clouds had moved in making it difficult to discern what was mountain and what was clouds.  As we hiked back down, there were lots of bushes and we encountered a male caribou.  He was maybe 10 yards away and was so engrossed with his eating that he didn’t pay any attention to us.  At times all we could see were his antlers as he chomped away at berries and vegetation.

Our time in Denali has rapidly come to a close, but I couldn’t ask for a better experience.  The weather has been great and we’ve been treated to incredible views and scenery.  In the morning, we take the bus back out to the entrance to continue our Alaskan journey.  Wildlife sightings are common on the bus ride, so here’s hoping our good fortune continues and we’re treated to a full day of final Denali experiences.

Denali Flight Seeing

Our introduction to Denali National Park involved a very small plane and a “flight seeing” adventure.  We wanted to stay inside the park, and Denali doesn’t have the typical lodges like you might find at Yellowstone or Glacier.  Most of the lodging is outside the park.  However, there is an area 90 miles deep inside the park called Kantishna.

Kantishna was an old mining area before the national park existed and there are four private lodging facilities.  There is no electricity (except what the lodges generate themselves) and no cell coverage.    Truly a time to be off the grid.

We’re staying at Skyline Lodge which is the base of operations for Kantishna Air Taxi, hence the flight seeing adventure.  Typically, to stay at one of these lodges you ride a bus for several hours from the entrance.  With Kantishna, they offer the ability to fly in because there is an airstrip near the lodges where they fly in and out.  And by airstrip, I mean a long strip of gravel.

The weather was absolutely perfect.  Bright blue skies and very few clouds.  Denali is a vast park and seeing it from the air was incredible, but without a doubt the highlight was getting up close and seeing Denali Mountain.  The tallest peak in North America at over 20,000 feet, it was called Mount McKinley for decades before returning to its original native name.  Spectacular probably isn’t a good enough description.  It was truly awe-inspiring to see.  I took way too many pictures, but I think this one is my favorite:

Land of the Midnight Sun

One of Alaska’s nicknames (at least in summertime) is land of the midnight sun.  They aren’t kidding.  The sun is still shining at midnight.  We’re less than two weeks after the summer solstice which has the longest daylight of the year.  Here in Alaska, it’s about 19-20 hours of daylight.  Our flight into Anchorage landed at 10:15pm and you would have thought it was still middle of the afternoon given how much daylight there was.  Luckily for us, we have blackout curtains.  We’re going to need them.

Finally!! We're back on the Road Once Again!

It's been a loooonnnngggg time since we've been able to travel.  The COVID-19 pandemic that  exploded worldwide in March 2020 essentially stopped the world from traveling. Masks became ubiquitous.  We learned new terms such as "social distancing", washed our hands religiously, and couldn't visit family or friends for fear of spreading the virus that has killed millions world wide.  For a while, the world essentially shut down.  Businesses closed and many employees began working from home.  There was a global shortage of hand sanitizer and for some inexplicable reason there was also a shortage of toilet paper.

Fast forward to now.  Successful vaccines have been developed at incredible speeds to keep us from being infected and to slow the spread of the virus. Businesses have reopened and the ability to travel is now back.  For us who love to travel, it's been a strange two years.

We are thankful to be vaccinated and able to start exploring again.  As I type this, we are en route to Alaska for a much needed two-week break from all the storms and stresses of these many months.

We're happy to be traveling and blogging again.  First up -- Denali National Park.  It's very remote without cell or internet connectivity so it may be a couple of days before I post....but I will be posting :)

All Good Things.........

Unfortunately our time in Scandinavia has come to a close.  It's our final morning before heading to the airport for our flight home.  We've had a fabulous two weeks celebrating our 25th anniversary.  We've been blessed with great weather, great food, and wonderful hospitality.  Copenhagen has been a fun place to finish our trip.  We climbed the spiral steeple at the Church of Our Savior and spent time with the free spirits of Christiana. We experienced the local food scene at Reffen, the outdoor food court in the industrial section of Copenhagen right on the water.  We had fun at Tivoli, the City's amusement park which first opened in 1843.

But probably one of the single biggest memories of Copenhagen will be this view.  This is Nyhavn, or New Harbor, perhaps the most photographed site in the City and for good reason.  Our hotel was one block over.   Between the boats and all of the cafes and restaurants, Nyhavn was always hopping.  We ate dinner at 41 Nyhavn on our last night, sitting by the water, hearing a myriad of languages spoken, and soaking up the view one last time.

Reunited and it Feels So Good

We love being able to travel and are blessed to be able to do so.  We've had lots of incredible experiences, but everything is not always perfect.  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" is how the old saying goes.  We've certainly made our fair share of lemonade.

Over the years we've had bad weather, travel delays, late arriving baggage, ailments, unexpected closures, and the like.  I don't write about them as I want to focus on the positives.  This year's trip got off to a rocky start, but I told Mona if it got resolved, I would write about it.

What happened?  I left my jacket on the plane when we changed planes in Copenhagen on the way to Sweden.

Leaving a jacket is not that big a deal.  It's an inconvenience for sure, but not insurmountable.  My issue?  My jacket is a special travel jacket I bought that has an interior liner with lots of pockets so you can pack clothes and other items to minimize the size and number of bags that you bring.  I basically left half my clothes for our two week trip on the plane.

Unlike your suitcase with a bag tag or other identifying information, my jacket had none of this.  The airline couldn't just put it on the next flight to Stockholm.  They had no idea whose it was.  I learned from the airline that it should go to the Copenhagen Airport's lost and found.  A faint glimmer of hope.

Once we got to our hotel, I looked up the information for the airport lost and found and saw they only keep and track things such as wallets, cell phones, and computers.  They don't track or keep clothes and other similar items.  Those are turned over to the Copenhagen police.

I emailed the Police Department's lost and found and provided all of my information.  I found pictures from the company's website to show what my jacket would look like.  I had to buy a few shirts since the only short sleeve shirt I had was the one I was wearing on the flight over.  I couldn't have two weeks of pictures in the same shirt- not to mention the aroma. 

Mona was confident everything would work out.  Me, not so much.  I had moved on and bought new shirts.  There were too many steps for my jacket to reach the police department.  There was no identification in the jacket.  It was a nice jacket with other clothes inside.  It will be too hard to find the owner.   Etc., Etc., Etc.

The glorious email came on July 9.  "We are pleased to inform you we have received your jacket."

Hallelujah!!  Praise the Lord!!  Happy Dance!!!  We are finishing our trip in Copenhagen so I can pick up my jacket.  We arrive late on the 10th.  We're at the main police station at 9am on the 11th when they open to claim my jacket.   Everything's still inside.  Another Happy Dance!!!

I told Mona it was all of her positivity that helped make it happen.  I'm grateful to everyone who had a hand in reuniting me with my jacket.  Thank You!

P.S. -- Mona got hives, but she's fine now.