Denali or Mt.McKinley

Yesterday I made the amazing flight to see "the great one," otherwise know as Mt. McKinley, otherwise known as Denali. Let me clear up that confusion before I show you the photos. The original inhabitants of the area were the Athabaskans and they called the mountain Denali meaning"the great one." However, rarely do pioneers use the terms that they should when arriving into an area and when the first miners arrived in the area and named the massive peak they named it after then governor of Ohio, William McKinley, for no good reason. He had no connection to the future park nor ever visited the region, it was strictly a political ploy. In 1917, Mt. McKinley National Park was established however it did not include the entire mountain. The main purpose of the park was to protect many of the species of the area that were near extinction due to hunting and trapping. Mt. McKinley remained the main name until the 1980's, when more then 1.3 million acres, adjacent to the park, were placed in preservation creating the Denali National Park and Preserve, the entire 6 million acres makes the DNP&P larger then the state of Massachusetts. At that time the Alaskan Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain back to "Denali," even though the U.S. Board of Geographic Names maintains "McKinley." Is it all clear now?

Good. Now back to the flight.

We headed out about 3:45 in a six seat airplane and I hoped that this time I would actually get to see Denali, last year during the flight, it was completely clouded over. There were plenty of clouds but it looked like we would have a chance of catching some glimpses. We flew up the glaciers and came within sight of Denali. We were unable to see the mountain in it's entirety however, only 30% of people that come to visit get that view and I saw it many times last year. The whole trip is an amazing experience, the rest you can see in pictures.





































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What the Heck is the Yukon?

After spending last year traveling north and south along the rail belt in Alaska, I finally made the right hand turn in Fairbanks and found myself in the middle of nowhere. It looks like I will mostly be leading tours through the middle of nowhere for the summer, which means more days with the same people, longer days and hours and hours on coaches. These longer tours leave Alaska and head in a southeastern arc through the Yukon (the northwest most territory in Canada) and ending in Skagway, back in Alaska, most of the time. The cities we visit are Dawson City, Beaver Creek and Whitehorse, the latter is the only one that really qualifies as a city. As we travel the highways, also facetiously named, we see miles and miles of trees, few cars and no Starbucks. (wait, in Whitehorse there are two Starbucks and one McD's) We have to take lunch on the road with us or visit special roadhouses that cater to the coach tours, otherwise there is nothing available. There are some interesting rest stops with great snacks; the worlds largest cinnamon roll at Braeburn Station, incredible strawberry rhubarb pie at Rica's Roadhouse and amazing cookies in Chicken. The landscape vary between vast river valleys, high jagged mountains and trees so thick you can't see beyond 10 feet. It is a beautiful amazing area but I can't even imagine what winter would be like.

To answer the title question, the Yukon is three things to me. First, it is the territory with a population of 31,000 (about equal to the number of students attending UCD), 21,000 live in the metro area of Whitehorse. It borders Alaska to the west, British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east and the Beaufort Sea to the north. Here they fly the Yukon and Canadian flags and very often you will also see the Alaska and/or US flags; you can pay in US dollars just about everywhere and receive Canadian loonies as change; and on TV there are about 5 stations in French, WGN out of Chicago and host of stations that play American sitcom reruns. Second, the Yukon is the river...stay tuned for the next post. Third, the Yukon is HAL speak for anything east of Fairbanks. Though we stay over in the crossroads town of Tok, AK, if you are leaving Fairbanks on the highway, you are in the Yukon. That means: fewer tours passing through, getting us away from the mass confusion that is Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage; fewer TD's, which means less gossip and complaining; getting to really know your guests, for better or worse; fewer supervisors looking over your shoulder; and finally working really long hours but actually making a bigger impact. I am enjoying the Yukon and now that I have Dawson City down they are sending me through Beaver Creek next. So much for knowing what I am doing.

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Finally Not Tired

It has taken me two weeks to get adjusted to the Holland America (HAL) way of life. I figured I had done a pretty good job preparing myself, working as much as possible and staying busy on my days off, so that the pace wouldn't get to me. Apparently there is no way to prepare other then to just jump in and do it. In the first two weeks I worked more then one hundred hours and there were many more hours that were almost impossible to clock. I slept in 10 different beds and an air mattress in my apartment in Anchorage, including moving hotels 3 times in 3 days while staying in the same town. I have had a 1:30 am and a 4:30 am wake call, the norm is about 6:00 am and the lights out is usually about 11:00 though more often then not it is earlier. I have heard complaints about dust in the hotel room in Denali (duh, you're in the wilderness,) having to use an outhouse (aka long drop) in a place that doesn't even have running water, the lack of animals outside the train, coach, hotel room, etc., long days on the coach (look at a map, Alaska is really big,) and many other wonderful comments. The best one was the guy that told me on the first day of the 12 land tour following his 7 day cruise that he just wanted to go home. I am sure there are more wonderful quips but let me stop while I am ahead.

Now don't think for a second that I don't love doing it or being in Alaska, let me tell you those reasons too. Seeing Mt. Healy rising up with the 5 am sun on it, riding the train over Hurricane Gulch and along the Indian River, being on the Taylor Highway for the first time, seeing 1898 come to life in Dawson City, following the mighty Yukon River through the wilderness, eating fresh caught salmon, seeing a cruise ship docked in Skagway with the mountains seemingly rising up on all sides, following the White Pass trail on a narrow gauge train, getting to know people from all over the world, hanging out with old friends and making a few new ones. Those are just a few of the amazing things I have done in my two weeks. Oh yeah, no longer being exhausted at the beginning and end of every day. Stay tuned for more.

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The Training Continues and Other Photos

So before I left for Alaska I spent a couple of days with my sister, JA and the girls.
Yes, that is CMA holding a small version of the Eiffel Tour that I brought back long ago for my sister. CMA loves to play with it and the Sacre Coeur and Arc de Triomphe. She knows how to make her Auntie happy.

Now that CEA is walking she is rarely sitting.










CMA doesn't like swing but she loves to push her sister.





I tried to get a picture with CEA too but she wouldn't sit still.


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Sea and Air

My first tour started down in Seward and though I may really dislike waking up at 2 am to catch a coach down there, I really like the town. Half of our tours start/end in Seward, the main port for Anchorage. Oddly enough, despite it's name, Anchorage has very few ships dock there, the glacial silt prevents deep water boats from traveling up into the Cook Inlet. Anyway, last year I spent a bit of every tour in Seward and loved it. It has two distinct areas, one near the harbor and one near the Sea Life Center. Both areas have a nice little coffee shop to hang out in while trying to recover from getting up so early in the morning and one of them has WiFi access which is a good way to as the time. There is shopping in both areas though it is better near the SLC and both areas have great food. Of course, something that both have in abundance is amazing views of the mountains surrounding Resurrection Bay and the beautiful green glacial water.

While at the small boat harbor waiting for my guests to return from there Kenai Fjords Cruise, which had been cut short due to weather, I spied this mural:


It isn't new but I had lot of time to sit and look at it, so I thought I would share it with my viewers at home. It depicts the importance of both the underwater world and the above to the livelyhood of Seward.

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Walking to and fro

When I arrived at the new apartment I learned that my roommate had a bicycle for us to use. Now it isn't the greatest bike but it will keep me in shape for work in the fall. However, while working I walk back and forth to the hotel and downtown as much as possible, only giving in to cab usage if I am hauling a suitcase. The walk is about 20 minutes and in recent days I have made at least 2 trips downtown per day. Downtown Anchorage is laid out in a grid pattern so I change the route every time I make the trip. One of the routes takes me past the cemetery that dates back to 1915, when the city was first founded. The vista across the cemetery opens up onto the Chugach Mountains which sit right outside of Anchorage.
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Alaska Through My Eyes

Last year while I was working here I took lots of pictures of nature and the very obvious beauty of Alaska. I have been thinking about a focus for this year and I found it as I walked around Anchorage today. I am going to show you much smaller snippets of Alaska's building whether it be a piece of art, a huge mural or a striking building. This summer will be about Alaska from ground level. Here goes.

Leave it to me to start by showing the sign for a great bar in downtown Anchorage, the name is pretty amusing also. Humpy's is a great hang out with live music at times, big screen tv's, an outdoor patio, good atmosphere and lots of great beer on tap. I haven't been there yet this year but soon.

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