We left McCarthy and flew back to Chitina where we picked up
our car and started a long drive to Fairbanks. This drive would be along the
Richardson Highway, but would be a new route to us once we passed the Tok
Cutoff.
We immediately noticed a change in the landscape with more boggy and
slough areas that were favored habitat for moose.
We only had one moose
sighting and had to yell at it to get it to quit foraging and look at us so we
could get a good picture. We drove along the very scenic Delta River valley on
our way to Delta Junction the Alaskan Highway ends. The Alaskan Pipeline
parallels the Richardson and we had several great views of the pipeline.
With
the Alaska Range as a backdrop, we had several great views of mountain scenery,
but are growing tired of photographing mountains.
Just outside Delta Junction
is the Ft. Greely Army Base where we stopped for a photo of the tanks that
flank the base entrance.
We stopped at the Delta Junction visitor’s center for
a short break and to see the marker that marks the end of the Alaskan Highway.
We also got some pictures of some really large mosquitoes.
We arrived in
Fairbanks but had difficulty finding our hotel from the directions that we were
given by the travel agency.
We called the hotel and found out it was on the
other side of the city and not even close to where we’d been directed. It was
the first time our instructions were not dead on.
We checked into the really
fine Pike’s Landing waterfront hotel and into our deluxe room overlooking the
Chena River. We had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and conked out for the
night.
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| Air mail delivery along the Richardson |
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| Ice still on the lake |
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| At a salmon hatchery on the Delta |
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| Hey moose, look this way! |
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| Ft. Greely main gate |
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| Along the pipeline |
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| The end of the Alaskan |
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| Jane with the AK state bird |
The next morning we took the hotel’s shuttle to the airport
and boarded a Wright Air Service flight to Bettles (BET uls), AK.
This would be
our first trip above the Arctic Circle as Bettles is about 35 miles north of
latitude 66°33’44”N, and we were excited.
We landed in Bettles after about an
hour’s flight from Fairbanks and checked into the Bettles Lodge which is listed
on the national registry of historic places.
We were to stay here for two
nights. Our package called for us to do a Bettles community tour and a river
cruise to Old Bettles, the original trading post and community established
during the gold rush days one day, and a visit to Kobuk Valley and Gates of the
Arctic national parks by floatplane the next.
On our community tour we learned
that Bettles has a population of 67 people and operates side by side with a
small native community. Both native and white communities function
independently of each other, but come together to make decisions and policies
that affect both.
Bettles has its own post office and has diesel generators
that generate power for the entire community. But power generation is an
expensive process and electricity costs about 62¢ per kWh. We wondered why in an area that has over
22 hours of daylight in the summer, there isn’t more solar panels taking
advantage of this power source.
The Bettles school is now closed down as the
number of children attending has diminished over the years.
Currently, there is
only one school-aged child in the community who is being home schooled. After
our tour we had lunch at the lodge then were driven to the Koyukuk River for our
river cruise to Old Bettles.
We learned that a turn in the river determined
where the original community was established as steamboats could not negotiate
the turn any further upstream.
Later, the town was moved about 10 miles further
upstream when the Air Force established a landing strip during WWII for
logistical support. We took an approximate 10 mile ride down the Koyukuk River
to Old Bettles.
We donned mosquito netting because the bugs were swarming and
super thick, but even with the netting and bug spray viewing was difficult with
the bugs biting.
After looking at the old buildings and taking some
photographs, we climbed back into the boat and high tailed it away from the
mosquitoes.
We got back to the lodge and started happy hour while waiting for
some new friends we met on the flight to Bettles, Gary and Greer, to return
from flight seeing the parks.
We had finished our second round and decided to
go ahead with dinner without them.
No one at the lodge was saying anything as
to their whereabouts, but it was obvious they were overdue.
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| The poop on Bettles |
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| Taking off from Fairbanks |
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| Meandering rivers up here too! |
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| Another pipeline pic |
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| Bettles Lodge |
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| Fuel for the generating station |
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| Bettles ranger station |
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| Launching the boat |
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| The old Bettles trading post |
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| One sexy mama! |
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| We've got bugs! |
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| Never this thick in Louisiana |
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| Relaxing after a big day |
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| The sun shines through the smoke |
The next morning at breakfast we met up with Gary and Greer
and found out they had to land on a lake and wait for the wind to shift and
clear smoke from a forest fire so they had enough visibility to fly. They didn’t
get back to the lodge until almost 2000.
Today it was our turn and right away
our pilot let us know that getting to Kobuk Valley was very improbable due to
smoke and haze from the fire.
Capt. Larry was depressed over the news, but was
hoping that conditions might improve enough that he could convince the pilot to
at least fly over the closest boundary so he could claim that he was in the
park. After breakfast we went to the Gates of the Arctic ranger station in
Bettles and watched a movie about the park and the people who live along its
boundaries.
We decided that most government made park movies make the people
are associated with the park to be bigger heroes than they probably are in real
life. Anyone who lives in frontier wilderness conditions are a special breed,
regardless if they established a hog farm in Iowa years ago, or a trading post in
the Yukon. But if you are associated with the government park system, you, our friend,
can become a legend bound for glory!
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| Our plane at the float pond |
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| Removing bilge water |
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| Filling the fuel bladders |
We met back up with our pilot, Kevin, and the three of us
were driven to the float pond. We watched as Kevin and a helper fueled the
plane to its maximum capacity, and then added another 10 gallons in fuel
bladders.
Kevin indicated it could be a long day and you don’t want to run low
on fuel. We agreed. We thought it was interesting when Kevin used a bilge pump
to remove water from the pontoons. Our plane was a Cessna 185 and she was now
ready to go. We boarded her and received all of the emergency and survival
instruction, then settled in for the first leg of our flight. Jane was
petrified and kept squeezing Capt. Larry’s arm so hard that he later found
black and blue marks. We tested the conditions toward Kobuk, but Kevin thought
it was too smoky to proceed.
Plan B was to head to a nearby lake and visit a
bush pilot icon, Paul Shanahan, who built a home and raised a family in these
parts while flying to virtually every part of the state during his career.
We
flew over Paul’s home and sure enough, he was outside in his long underwear
waving to us. We had our first water landing and it was as smooth as glass. We
taxied up to Paul’s beach where he and his dog, “Bug,” greeted us. We
immediately knew that this was going to be a treat, because Paul quickly
established himself as a really Alaskan sourdough character. He invited us in
and we laughed at the sign in his door- “I am hearing challenged. Don’t knock,
just come on in.” We wondered how often he had the bejesus scared out of him by
a visitor! Paul and Kevin started to catch up on pilot and flying news, and
then Paul started to tell some of his stories and experiences. It was
fascinating, even though we couldn’t fully relate to all of the bush pilot
issues.
Kevin asked Paul if he had any copies of the book that was written
about him and asked us if we would like to purchase a copy. We said, “Absolutely,”
but Paul said he would just give us one. We wanted him to sign it and opened
the cover and found that it was already signed and dated 3/20/2013. He found
two more copies that were also signed and dated with the same date. Paul was
bewildered. He could not figure out why he dated all three books with that
date. We noticed several empty vodka bottles and wondered if this provided a
clue. We told him to just change the date and asked if we could take a picture
of him doing so. Well, now he insisted on putting on pants, and after he got
his pants and suspenders adjusted, we got our shot. We left and walked down to
the beach where Kevin and Capt. Larry tried their luck at fishing, but no luck
was to be had. We said our goodbyes to Paul and took off from the lake. What an
encounter!
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| Mr. Paul signs his book |
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| Paul Shanahan and Jane |
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| We try for some big ones |
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| Lake Walker |
Kevin took us up to Lake Walker in Gates of the Arctic, N.P.
where we would have lunch. Lake Walker is a big lake about 19 miles long and up
to 600 feet deep. It is extremely scenic as the surrounding mountains seem to
dive right into the water.
We landed in a good spot and had our lunch while
only being mildly attacked by mosquitoes. After we finished eating, Capt. Larry
and Kevin again tried to hook into some 20-plus pound lake trout that the lake
is known for.
But again, no luck. While he was walking down the shore to try
another spot, Capt. Larry came upon some bear prints and scat, so we knew we
probably weren’t alone. Kevin signaled it was time to move one and we settled
in for another great takeoff. Capt. Larry was wondering when he should say
something to Kevin about the prospect of getting into Kobuk Valley.
The park
feature for which it is noted is sand dunes that were formed from glacial sand
deposits that were spread over a very wide valley along the Kobuk River. We
headed northwest for about 15 minutes and Kevin said that conditions ahead didn’t
look too bad and we would poke our nose around and see how things went. About
20 minutes later he announced that we were approaching some of the little sand
dunes. Capt. Larry started to get excited.
Five minutes later we were
approaching the large dunes that the park is known for. We made it and were in
the park big time! The Kevin put the icing on the cake when he announced that
we were going to land in the Kobuk River so we could get out and touch the
ground!! The day before Gary and Greer said that they landed in a nearby lake
and we learned that was standard fare for most visitors. But Kevin wanted to
try the fishing in the river, so that’s what we did.
We landed, took some
pictures with a sign (there is no sign that marks the park like most of them,
so a couple in 2010 donated a sign for future visitors) that was loaned to us
by the Gates of the Arctic park ranger, and Kevin and Capt. Larry fished for
sheephead salmon (he thinks that’s what Kevin called them), a migratory fish
that normally shows up in early July. Either they didn’t cooperate or we were
just too early, because we were skunked for the third time.
We flew out of the
river and headed back to the lodge, arriving almost 2 hours later. When we were
in the river we were about 130 miles from the Bering Sea coast, and about 170
miles from the lodge. It’s really big country! By now, with so many smooth
takeoffs and landings, Jane was starting to feel comfortable. She was chatting,
joking, and taking pictures from the third seat.
We landed and got back to the
lodge where Capt. Larry gave Kevin the biggest tip he’d ever given anyone. It
was money well spent and Kevin was grateful, but not as grateful as Capt.
Larry. He made it to the most remote national park in the park system and had a
great time getting there.
We had happy hour and dinner with Gary and Greer and
turned in early (there’s over 23 hours of sunlight up there this time of year)
for some welcomed sleep.
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| Enjoying lunch on Lake Walker |
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| Good sized Lake Walker bear print |
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| The dunes of Kobuk Valley |
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| So weird to see these dunes here |
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| Fishing the Kobuk River |
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| We make it to Kobuk Valley! |
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| The extra fuel comes in handy |
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| Smoke from the fires |
The next morning we had breakfast. The lodge got a new cook
while we were out chasing Kobuk, and last night’s meal was good. However, as we
started to look over the breakfast menu, the cook’s helper told us it would be
best to get the cook’s “breakfast special,” and not upset him. We ordered 2
specials and noticed that the new cook liked to dress everything up with lots
of cheese (anyone can cook with cheese!), and the special had one scrambled egg
with potatoes left over from last night (they were mushy). We were not
impressed and told the helper (who was the cook when we arrived) that he did a
better job, but at least the new cook was happy we got his special. Our plane
back to Fairbanks arrived around 0930 and we boarded to leave the Arctic
Circle.
We had a good flight back to Fairbanks right until 5 minutes before we
landed when an ear-piercing alarm went off and the plane dropped about 200 feet
before the pilot brought things under control. Jane re-bruised Capt. Larry’s
black and blue marks.
Capt. Larry noticed that the pilot had pushed the speed
up to a red-line indicator on the air speed indicator, and thought that that
might have set the alarm off. The pilot joked about it on the ground and said
he “had the field,” but Capt. Larry thinks he was trying to beat another plane
in and things went sour. We returned to our hotel where we had our rental car
parked. Check-in time wasn’t for another 4 hours, so we decided to do a “Jane
trip” and go to North Pole, AK, just outside of Fairbanks. Of course, North
Pole has Santa Claus House and everything is about Santa Claus and Christmas.
Jane was like a kid in a candy store.
We met Santa and told him that all of the
little kids in our family were being really good this year and try and bring
them everything they ask for and more (belly up you parents!).
We photographed
Santa’s reindeer and bought some souvenirs before heading back to the hotel.
The next day was a travel-break day. We did some laundry and got ready to take
the train down to Denali, N.P., our next park.
We had to call to verify that we
could get in as some wildfires in the area were messing with traffic and park
activities. But we were told that we were good to go. We ran some last minute errands, turned in
our rental car and got ready for the next leg.
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| Kid Jane at Santa Claus House |
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| Santa lives in North Pole |
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| Jane with Santa's reindeer |
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| Jane and friend |
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| Letters to Santa |
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| 181 days until he returns! |
