Midnight!

Day 12 - Anchorage to Denali

Spent the night at Joe's house nestled in the mountains right outside the city. We woke up to a sunny cloudy cool day that turned sunny and warm fast. After messing around the yard taking in the beauty, I looked up to the backyard and saw a HUGE moose and baby taking a morning stroll through the backyard. Of course I did not have my camera on (cause I am cool like that) so I ran inside and out the back door to see them walk into the wood. Mama moose was literally over seven feet tall. It was a morning to remember.

On to Denali....... The clouds lingered and when got the road to Sarah Palin's town, the one where you could see Russia.... it must have been too cloudy, we did not see Russia....... North toward Denali. I kept telling Jolie we were going to see the mountain..... It is rare that tourist see the mountain...... I think we read that it can only be seen about 30 % of the time due to clouds storm, etc. I work here for a summer and only saw it twice....... Going do the road we saw it and then stopped and took pictures. Totally cool!

We don't make reservations because that takes planning so there were no camp sites in Denali, so we headed a click north to the town called Healey and found a real cool campground.

The wide place in the road is where the guy in the movie Into The Wild supposedly actually went into the woods. Cool fun fact!

Anyway, We got in about 11:30 and I was still wearing sunglasses. Set up camp and Jolie cooked mac and cheese. Still light, but getting cold. Peace for now
Sam




Day 12 cont.-

Slept in this morning and it was fantastic. Slowly got ready, did a load of laundry
(thank goodness- i was running out of the important things), packed up the truck and again headed north- hitting up IHop on the way out of town
.
As we headed up the road to where we were going to be camping, sam kept talking about the mountain and how big it is and only like 30% of the people who come here actually get to see it all (because of the clouds). The whole time, on the inside, I was thinking "it's a mountain, aren't they all big."

Then, we rounded the corner, and the clouds had cleared and holly mountain. There it was- Denali. It's huge and magnificent and truly something to see!!

I think what really made today special though, was how excited sam was. It made me enjoy it so much more, just seeing him that giddy.

What a good day!!

Love you Sam!!

- Jolie


10 years...
10 years since I last saw my friend Sam and what a joyful sight it was to see him and Jolie drive towards my house. Waiting was I with a big smile that could only be brought on by seeing an old friend. After a night at the Tap Root and catching up, the next came all too quickly and I found myself unwilling to let him leave so soon. So unwilling that I did my best to suggest alternate routes to their journey.

No success.

The route remained unchanged. Denali was to be seen.

Only 30 percent of the people that visit Alaska have an opportunity to see the mountain unabated by clouds. A 30 percent chance that Sam was willing to bet upon. A 30 percent chance that his feeling that Denali would be seen today was true.

So I humbly asked to be included on this portion of their epic journey. As I looked to the North, the clouds were discouraging. But I packed my tent and sleeping bag, loaded up some fire wood and guided the way North to Denali.

The clouds gave way to a glorious sight.

DENALI

Sam was right.

The mountain, Tallest in north America, Denali 20320

Bubby, aka. Stevens, aka. AK (attack kitty)

Joe's House

Joe in Anchorage