Riverboat cruise yesterday..

Unbelievable day yesterday! Got on a riverboat yesterday on the Chema River and cruised past some million dollar homes.  These hardy souls live here year round including the 40 below times.  In Good for them.  Our guide told us that some of the 50 foot lots on the river sell for $100,000.  In addition, most of the homes have nice boats as well as sea planes parked in front of them. One in every six people in Alaska have his/her pilots license.

We didn't just cruise up and down the river either.  We stopped at a kennel and watched sled dogs being trained. We stopped at a reproduction of a native Alaskan village where they caught salmon in the river and smoked them to preserve them.  The captain on board gave a running narrative and I wish I could retain a fourth of it.  Found out there are more moose than people in Alaska and they are big critters that you really don't want to mess with at all.  

When we left the riverboat in the afternoon we got on the bus and headed to Denali National Park. The ride is 2-1/2 hours and as you approach you get closer and closer to the foothills of the mountains.  Due to the tectonic plate movement, the mountains are actually growing 2 inches a year.  We watched closely but could not detect any movement.  This area is on a fault and there are 75-100 earthquakes a day but aren't felt since they are not that strong.

We awoke this AM to a brisk 40ish temp.  However, I love the air in the mountains and it is so refreshing.

Waiting for the bus right now to take us on our tundra tour in Denali.  The park is 660,000 acres.  Hope we don't get lost.   

Panning for gold.

We went panning for gold today and I got $19 worth of gold.  If I had to make a living doing this, I'd starve to death.  Also got to see some of the 800 mile + of the Alaska pipeline.  It was drizzly all day with a high temp of about 60 but it was refreshing after the Midwest summers.  Tomorrow we are going on a riverboat cruise and then on to Denali park. This place is so laid back and the people are extremely friendly

Tomorrow is the day....

Almost done packing.  Packing for two weeks is especially hard to do when you're going somewhere you've never been and not sure what to take.  Oh, well, if all else fails, I will go shopping which is something I'm really good at!  So far, my checked luggage weighs in at 35 lbs.  Since I'm allowed 50 lbs., I'm good to go.  Don't know what kind of connections I'll have in Alaska so this blog will be rather iffy.  I do know that I'll be posting pictures on FB after I get home.  Now, on to bed. 

The Great Alone...

The Great Alone was a book written by Janet Daily that I read years ago.  It told the story of Alaska from the time it was discovered by Russian fur traders to when it became part of the United States.   The story followed a family throughout several generations and told about the fur industry and the gold rush.  Although the book is fiction with fictional characters, by the end of the book, I felt like they were family members and I hated to see them go.   I'm going to be looking for some of their relatives when I go to Alaska. I think this book had some bearing on my going on this adventure.

North to Alaska...

Going to Alaska in 17 days!  Woo-hoo!   Have to start giving some serious thought to type and amount of clothes for our land and sea grand and glorious adventure.