Journey From Denali to Valdez

It's hard to know where to begin on this trip.  As with each one of our trips, we saw so much that it was overwhelming.  Alaska is really hard to put into words.  Someone once described it this way: The more of Alaska you experience, the deeper it grips you.  

It seems like as soon as I get home from a trip, I start planning the next one.  

We flew into Anchorage on Friday September 4, 2020.  The fact that we traveled up there in 2020 was an experience in itself.  We planned this trip after our summer mission trip was canceled due to COVID 19.  That was a bummer so we decided that even though there were still travel restrictions in place (testing/masks etc.) that we would make the journey.  Most of our trip was going to be in remote areas anyway.  

The next morning we drove a couple of hours up to Talkeetna where the fog enveloped us.  That made our float plane experience even more exciting!  That and the fact that the pilot was doing maintenance on the plane when we got there.  We tried not to worry about that and trusted that he knew what he was doing.  

After the fog lifted, we took off for a beautiful flight to Caribou Lodge. It was about a half hour flight and we could see Denali the whole way!  It was so beautiful and we landed right on the lake in front of the lodge.  The family was on the dock ready to welcome us and lead us to our cabin.  I found this lodge by following the Bramante Brothers YouTube page.  I've been watching their videos through a couple of seasons so I felt like I knew them.  They turned out to be wonderful hosts!  We spent time with the whole family, including the dogs!  They treated us like royalty and I cannot even begin to describe the food.  It was incredible!  We tried moose for the first time and were treated to homemade bread and the Bramante family recipe of marinara sauce.  Wow was it good!

The first day, we took a 4 mile hike around the lake.  That was a really difficult hike for me.  Everyone else seemed to do just fine but the tundra, muskeg and hills were a bit much for this old lady.  My legs were cramping like crazy afterward and I had to skip the hike the next day.  

We spent three wonderful nights at Caribou Lodge and the beauty and silence were fantastic.  

The best part was getting up early one morning and watching the sunrise over Denali.  It was simply, spectacular!

I loved our time at Caribou Lodge but I wasn't ready for hiking the tundra. 

Alaska is amazingly beautiful but never underestimate the danger there. Proper preparation is essential when camping, hiking or even going for a drive.

Then our trip took us on a road trip to Valdez. It was a SPECTACULAR fall drive! This trip rivals the beautiful Seward Highway. I think it may even be better. We took 2 days to make the drive which is normally about 5 hours. We stayed overnight in Nelchina where we were treated to the best moose burgers on the planet, home grown potatoes and tomatoes along with smoked salmon, caught and prepared by the owner of the home. It was a beautiful stay.

The next morning we continued our drive down to Valdez. We were amazed by the majesty of the Wrangell Mountains and breathtaking scenery. 

Once we arrived in Valdez, we did some exploring and visited the salmon hatchery where we saw the local sea lions who hang out there and some bears who were feasting on the salmon who were trapped on a small pool of water, most had spawned and died and the smell in the area was pretty horrific. 

The next morning we had a canoe trip scheduled to row among icebergs and explore ice caves at Valdez Glacier. Sadly we couldn't see the glacier as it had calved recently. 

The wind was blowing pretty hard but it was a beautiful day. When the guide said "Normally I would cancel in this much wind but let's go." Lesson learned. If this happens, cancel the trip!

After we crashed into an iceberg, I insisted we turn back. However, the guide said it would be better to keep going to get behind the icebergs to block the wind. 

We ended up gettinf out of tge canoe and hiking over two icebergs to get to the other side so we could tow back to shore. When we hopped back into the canoe, Cindy helped to row and since I had no oars, I was pretty helpless. Cindy did such a good job that our guide offered her a job. 

Fortunately the wind died down a little and with Cindy's help, we were able to make it back to shore.