Alaska: Land of the midnight sun
My husband’s dream to ride his motorcycle to Alaska was finally realized this month. It would take him about a month to ride from Austin, Texas to Fairbanks, Alaska and back. For me, this was too long to be apart, plus, I also really wanted to go to Alaska! So, we decided I’d meet him there about 13 days into his trip, and we’d spend four days together before he began his return trip home. With only four days in Alaska, visiting Denali National Park was at the top of my list. So, I flew into Fairbanks, the closest major airport, with a stop in Seattle which is at least a 10 hour trip.
Fairbanks
I arrived in Fairbanks at 1am wearing my sunglasses. I couldn’t get over this “midnight sun”. I’d been traveling for 23 hours at that point, and was incredibly disoriented even though it’s only a three-hour time difference. Even with an eye mask, after five nights I never got on a regular sleep pattern.
It rained the first day, so we took the very touristy train ride to Gold Dredge 8. It was touristy but still a lot of fun to learn the gold-mining history and pan for gold. Together we found $28 of gold that they’ll conveniently put in a $30 keepsake necklace. For lunch we headed over to The Cookie Jar, which everyone recommended because it was on “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”, I loved the name but didn’t find it to be anything special.
Since it was still raining, our hopes of kayaking were dashed, we headed to North Pole. It’s Christmas year-round in this tiny town. Christmas banners hang from the candy cane light posts in July. We stopped into the Christmas store to take a picture with Santa, and see the reindeer.
We stopped in the sleepy downtown of Fairbanks. There’s a nice paved hike and bike trail along the river, and rentable bikes to check out parked all over. We wandered into the visitor’s center which offers a small museum and lots of local trail maps. I picked a few trail maps, and we ran back to the car in a downpour. What do you do on a rainy Sunday? That’s right – we went to the local Hoodoo brewery. This was a great little spot with a nice outdoor area and a food truck. It’s was a really long day considering we slept so little, so we went to the historic Pump House for an amazing salmon dinner.
We slept 11 hours that night! This was surprising since our VRBO cabin didn’t have curtains and it was so bright. It was a clear day, so we headed down Chena Springs Road outside of town to hike Angel Rocks. It took about two hours round trip on clearly marked trails. The parking lot was full, but mostly we were by ourselves except for the mosquitoes that just wouldn’t quit. Even with the bug spray and pants I still had lots of bites. We headed a few miles up the road to Chena Hot Springs. As soon as we got in the springs, it started raining again but it was quite nice. I wasn’t too impressed with the Springs themselves, it was just one big pool with moss covered rocks and no where to sit, so we didn’t stay long. There’s also an ice museum that looked interesting, but we wanted to start the 1.5 hour ride back to Fairbanks. We stopped into the Banks Alehouse for dinner, and I got some sad halibut tacos with one piece of fish that was half the diameter of the tortilla. It was good, but I needed a second dinner. I did try this weird gummy bear beer that smelled just like gummy bears and had them soaked in the bottom, but it wasn’t that great either. But I was super excited to head out to Denali the next day.
Denali National Park
We were on the road by 6am the next morning so we could make the most of our two days in Denali National Park. It’s about a two hour drive from Fairbanks. I wanted to get to the visitor’s center when it opened so we could sign up for the following day’s discovery hike, an off trail hike with a ranger, but it was booked up. You can only sign up for them two days in advance but with the fourth of July holiday I knew it would be a slim chance. Denali is over six million acres, but only has 35 miles of trail, so off trail hiking is promoted. I don’t have any experience with that so I wanted to go with a guide. You can only drive the first 15 miles of the only park road, so buses run regularly to different spots in the park. We got tickets that would take us to the Eielson visitor center at mile 66. This would normally be an eight hour trip but we had an extra hour waiting for a rescue bus when our’s broke down. It was a warm 78 degree day and the the mountain was out so it wasn’t a big inconvenience. 
For our patience, we were rewarded with lots of wildlife sightings! We saw at least eight grizzlies, including two cubs, countless caribou, and a moose with two babies right on the side of the road. We were also able to see the Denali mountain, the highest in the U.S. Only 30% of people actually get to see it due to the storms and cloud cover.
I didn’t understand the bus thing as first, but after a long day it was nice to sleep on the way back and wake up when someone yelled at the driver to stop for a bear! The buses cut down on traffic and wasted resources, and it was helpful to have 30 pairs of eyes looking for wildlife. If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic in Yellowstone because a buffalo was crossing the street, you’d appreciate it! And although it wasn’t a narrated tour, the driver answered all our questions and offered some info on the park. Once on a bus you can get off anywhere and pick up a bus going in your direction anywhere as long as there’s room, but after seeing all those grizzlies I wanted to stick to the trails.
The following day we hiked the Horseshoe Lake Trail near the visitor’s center before grabbing a bus to the kennels for the dog sled demo. This is definitely a highlight for animal lovers. You can pet and hug the dogs, and learn about how they are bred and see them screaming around a short track pulling a ranger. It was a warm day for the dogs but they were very exiting to see in action.
We only had a few more hours, so we decided to take a bus to hike the Savage River area. Although this is the farthest spot you can drive your own vehicle, we took a bus because we had such a good experience the day before. This was a mistake. We picked up the bus at the visitor’s center and it made about four stops including returning to where we were picked up before heading out. The 15ish miles took us over an hour and one bus driver’s life story. So word to the wise – check the bus schedule. The Savage River area was beautiful and worth the effort to check out those trails. And we were able to quickly catch a bus back that took less than 30 minutes. Before we left the park, I turned in my Junior Ranger activity book and got my Denali park badge. My 10-year-old self was super excited about this!
Heading back to Fairbanks for our last night, we stopped at the 49th State Brewery for dinner. The “Magic Bus” from the “Into The Wild” movie sits here with an Enter At Your Own Risk sign. The real bus still sits deep in the back country as a refuge for hikers, just as it was for Chris McCandless until his death. Entering that bus was heavy, and reminded me how wild the wilderness can be. I headed to the airport at 4am the next morning with my sunglasses on.
Tips:
- Take bug spray. Yes, the mosquitoes are as bad as they say.
- Take an eye mask for sleeping, our VRBO didn’t have curtains.
- Don’t forget your towel for the hot springs, or pay a $5 rental fee.
- Even adults can be Junior Rangers! Ask for an activity book at any state or national park, and once completed you’ll receive a badge.
What is this? These exhaust vents are beautifully painted all over downtown Fairbanks.
No this isn’t an electric car. Some cars have plugs so they can be plugged in during the winter to keep the engines from freezing.
Hike to the Top of Texas: Guadalupe Peak
You’d have thought we were just another Thelma and Louise, without the Brad Pitt part. I woke at five a.m., eager to start our eight hour road trip to West Texas. You’ll understand if you’ve ever driven through West Texas, it’s a flat, high-speed expanse of big sky ruralness. But a perfect place to escape it all, a place to soothe your soul and an inopportune place to run out of gas. My husband might describe it differently, using more romantic and dramatic words, and perhaps that’s the point. It’s a place that will fill you up with whatever you need, that is except gasoline.
My friend, Kimberlee, and I set out to bag the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the highest natural point in Texas in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. At an honorable 8,715 feet, it ranks 14th out of highest state points. We took Friday off of work, arriving around noon, hoping to get one of the peak’s five backpacking permits. Even though we got pulled over just outside Fort Stockton by a very kind highway patrolman, we still made great time. He reminded us to slow it down a bit and then sent us on our way. We were able to snag one of the last backpacking permits, which are free, knowing it would be a busy weekend for the Veteran’s holiday. We wanted at least four hours of daylight so we wouldn’t have to set up camp in the dark. The backpacking campground sits about a mile from the summit. We planned to be at the summit the following day in time to catch the sunrise.
We rolled into camp in just under three hours after many stops. The weather couldn’t have been better, it was hot when we started but after rounding the bend, the trail becomes shaded and windy and a comfortable temperature. Although it was barely five p.m., Kimberlee cooked up a very tasty chicken and dumplings Mountain House dinner. By 6:30 we were snug in our Big Agnes Fly Creek tent (on clearance now at REI, plus footprint). Exhausted from the drive and hike, we fell asleep immediately but woke up often to the howling winds. My friend had recently summited, so I was well-versed in the high winds and took extra heavy duty tent stakes. But I was still nervous each time the side of the tent was mashed against my face. You could hear the wind gathering force like a giant wave, roaring up from the valley and threatening to rip the rain fly right out of the ground.
Eleven hours later, I unzipped the tent to a stunning fire banded sky – one dazzling red strip between the black. I was gobsmacked. As we headed up the summit, I kept stopping to watch the sky but had to wake myself back up and keep going. It took less than an hour, and we had enough light about halfway to turn off our headlamps. As I rounded the last corner, I saw the summit marker just above me. Victory! The wind was ruthless, but I found a small spot behind some rocks that allowed me to sit and watch the sunrise in peace. It’s a very humbling and spiritual thing to reach a summit, to see the Earth as the big beautiful thing it was intended to be, to shut out the noise and just be present.
After a short time of book signing and selfie taking, we headed back down to camp. We left our packs inside the tent to hold it down while we were gone and luckily our tent was still attached to the earth. Another backpacker said his tent had flown halfway down the hill. Our Mountain House Mac and Cheese breakfast was a fail, but nothing could break out spirits after that sunrise. We passed a lot of people on the way down hiking the peak as a day hike, but I’d highly recommend catching the sunrise or sunset at the top. It really is the best view, and you won’t have to share the moment with many others. There was only one other person for part of the time at the top with us. All in all, it took us about six and a half hours with packs.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is one of the least visited national parks, probably because of the remote location near the Texas/New Mexico border, and also because it doesn’t have many camping spots. All 20 tent spots are first-come-first-served with no reservations. When we got to the trailhead in the campgrounds about 10:30am, we were lucky to snag a campsite from someone that was just leaving. We ditched the backpacking tent, and set up a more spacious home, complete with a spot to hang my Madera Hammock.
After resting a bit, we headed over to the visitor center to check out the exhibit. It had lots of really good info on the park, and animal replicas. We also discovered that you do NOT have to be a child to become a Junior Ranger. We diligently worked on the provided workbook, and earned our first Junior Ranger badge!
We were so excited about our new badges, we set off to hike Devil’s Hall Trail. Although, it took us less than two and a half hours, this trail did required some scrambling. It’s an easy first mile to the wash, then it’s mostly unmarked, but just keep going. If you follow the wash, you’ll eventually end up at a pretty cool site. But make sure you take a torch or keep an eye on the daylight because you are in the shaded creek bed.
Then lucky for us, there was a star viewing party that night. Two astronomers had set up their telescopes, as if the stars in that dark sky weren’t amazing enough. They pointed out some amazing sights, and we took turns on the telescopes. It was an excellent cap to the day. Some deer joined us for our Sunday morning breakfast before we packed up. Besides one roadrunner, we didn’t see much wildlife. We headed a mile up the road to the Frijole Ranch. From there, Smith Springs is about an hour easy hike that offered us some beautiful fall foliage. Not something we get a lot of in Central Texas.
We wanted to hike the McKittrick trail, which may have the best viewing for fall colors, but we were having a minor gas crisis. No matter what direction you come from, the nearest gas station may be 30 miles or more from the park. Even knowing this we failed to fill up and found ourselves driving 40 miles out of the way to Dell City. It’s a small town with two gas stations, both of which are closed on Sundays, but we asked someone on the street and they directed us to a small credit card station, so we were able to get gas before we were on fumes. It was a wonderful weekend being in nature, but I was ready for a shower. And it’d be eight short hours before I’d finally get one.
Tips:
- The Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in the Mountain Time Zone (MST), right on the border.
- Expect high winds at the top and prepare accordingly. Take extra tent stakes if you are camping, and a headband to keep your hair from whipping you in the face.
- Plan to take at least a gallon of water for Guad Peak. There is potable water near the trailheads, but not on any trails.
- The nearest gas station is at least 30 miles away from the park, plan accordingly.
- Fires are prohibited in the park, take a camp stove.
- Take trekking poles, the made a huge difference to me and I don’t usually use them.
Sea turtles, stingrays, and painkillers in the Virgin Islands
I was a tad concerned about traveling to St. John. The logisics of renting two cars, taking ferries and getting my family from one island to another could have been painful. But it was surprisingly easy, and I think the Cruzan rum samples at the St. Thomas airport helped. Driving on the left-hand side in American-style car is always a little tricky, so it took a day before we were consistently driving on the correct side of the road.
Due to the car ferry schedule, we headed straight to St. John, and didn’t spend any time on the larger island of St. Thomas. Although St. John is only seven miles long with no stoplights, there was plenty to keep us busy for a week. The few roads are steep and windy, but the speed limit is only about 35mph on most of the island. The rental car companies really like to stress renting a Jeep, we did just fine with a standard car at half the price. Someone even has an excellent sense of humor, because we really enjoyed the funny sayings on many of the road signs.
The Cruz Bay town has most of the island’s shops and restaurants. Our first stop on the island was at Joe’s Rum Hut right on the water, which is an excellent bang for your buck. There are many casual restaurants with happy hour specials to check out, but as with most islands most of the food was just okay. Our Westin hotel room had a kitchen and grill, so we ended up buying groceries and cooking our own meals a few nights. But do not miss their popular and delicious island drink: Pain killers.
St. John’s numerous beaches all offer excellent snorkeling. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite, because we went to five and they were all slightly different, but they all offered the same clear blue water. Maho was shallow and teaming with sea turtles just off the beach. Cinnamon Bay had less snorkeling but a longer beach with facilities, and we easily ducked under some trees during a passing rain cloud. A lot of cruise ship passengers end up at Trunk Bay, which is also the only beach that charges a fee, so it can be a bit crowded.
Not only are the beaches a bit of paradise, but 60% of the island makes up the Virgin Islands National Park. We forgot our National Park Pass at home, but all of the trails were free. There are only a couple of roads on the island, so it’s easy to find the well marked trailheads. We ventured to Ram’s head, a 2.5 mile trail located at the southeast tip and lined with giant pipe organ cactus and turk’s head cactus with its hot pink fruit. After a hot hike, we jumped into Salt Pond Bay to check out its turtles and reef fish. On the way back to Cruz Bay, we had lunch at Shipwreck Landing, which had the best grouper sandwich on the island.
Don’t miss the trek to Waterlemon Cay. We took the 30 minute shaded hike to snorkel among stingrays, colorful fish and lots of sea urchins. It definitely had one of the better reef areas for snorkeling, but only offered a tiny rocky beach. Oh, and its WaterLEMON. I mistakenly called it “Watermelon” the whole time we were there.
Ignoring the rain clouds and starting the hike to Waterlemon Cay.
On one of my favorite days, we took a day cruise on the Bad Kitty to check out some of the BVIs. After getting our passports stamped and paying our exit fee, we headed to Virgin Gorda. We were whisked through the batholiths, and didn’t have much time to explore or hang out on the amazing beach. I definitely wished we had more time there, and if I ever make it back I will plan a day trip just to Virgin Gorda. We had an unexciting stop on Cooper Island for lunch before heading to the Indians for snorkeling. You can only get here by boat, and it was easily the best snorkeling we did. And we had already had days of amazing reef exploration. We only had about 30 minutes, but my family was the very last ones back on the boat. We were dragging our fins, if you will! Our last stop, was Jost Van Dyke – an island of 250 residents and 29 bars. I’m almost positive Kenny Chesney has written whole albums while sipping pain killers at their tiny Soggy Dollar Bar.
Jost Van Dyke Island – Home to the famous Soggy Dollar Bar.
The six of us had an amazing time, venturing off to different beaches and meeting up again for dinner. Usually after a week on a small island I’ve seen enough, but I can see why my friends return year after year. Our week ended way too quickly, and I don’t think I’d ever tire of that water. But we were off to upstate New York for a wedding.
To be continued in New York…
Tips:
- Someone check out Reef Bay Trail and tell me about it, since we didn’t have time to see the petroglyphs! And if the return hike is too much, schedule a boat with the park service to meet you at the end.
- You can rent stand up paddle boards (SUP) at a few beaches for an above water adventure.
- There are many cays with lobster hunting potential. There is a 2 per day, per person limit.
- Utilize the grocery stores, everyone is super helpful.
- Try to spot a mongoose.
- Did I mention happy hours?
- Check out their local brews, and rum here is cheap (its the mixers that are pricey).
- Why did the chicken cross the road? No, seriously. I stopped to ask one, but she was such a diva. There are chickens all over the island, including these two that wandered around the restaurant we were in.
The Sun Never Sets in Wyoming
Ok, it does but not until after 9pm in June, and it’s up again at 5am. The days are long, but oh were they fun-filled. I’d always wanted to go to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks and after hearing about a friend’s trip. I knew I had to go, it just took a few years getting there. When I heard about Vacation Races half marathons by both parks, I immediately signed up. No big deal running two half marathons a week apart, especially if it got me out to the wild west, right? Not to mention this is the centennial year of the national park service – I was being called.
Runners on the race route.
Well, 12 hours after landing in Jackson, WY, I ran my fourth half marathon on the most beautiful race course ever. With the Tetons in view, and a friend at my side I was praising God for his creation! And the week kept getting better. The next day, my motorcycle-riding husband took me on my longest motorcycle ride ever. Previously I’d ridden maybe five miles in the neighborhood, so he was pretty proud of me at mile 175. We rented a sport touring BMW to drive by the Targhee National Forest in Idaho and back through the Teton pass. As we arrived back into GTNP we even spotted a black bear near a stream!
We spent our days, hiking to geysers and waterfalls, kayaking on Colter Bay and mountain biking in Montana. We met a few people around Jackson that may have been tired of tourists, but everyone we encountered after leaving Jackson was wonderful. And I have a new appreciation for the National Park Rangers because the second time we saw a bear, it was a Grizzly! And the second time, like the first, there was a ranger there making sure everyone stayed a safe distance, while reprimanding three people who decided to tromp through the woods to get a better view. I couldn’t believe the stupidity, but shouldn’t be so surprised after the article a few weeks ago about the guy who put a bison calf in his car because he thought it was cold! My husband and I could hike for hours without ever saying a word – which is the worst thing to do in bear country – so I was always looking over my shoulder.
The guy who invented bear spray was a genius, I must say! That stuff sells for $50 a pop, and probably 99% of the tourists who buy it never use it – but I get it, its like insurance.
The National Parks are built around accessibility. They even have a program called Every Kid in a Park which allows all 4th graders and their families free entry. However, it took very little effort – just stepping off the main trail to find lovely solitude. Old Faithful hosts thousands of visitors for its 90 second display. Being from Texas, we walked a flat five mile round trip to the Lone Star Geyer and watched its splendor for 20 minutes with only a dozen other people.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the bison. They cross the roads at their leisure, causing traffic jams on the one lane park roads. The parks are teeming with wildlife. Big horn sheep live at the top of the still snowy and incredibly windy Mt. Washburn, the big antlered moose – that is plural and not to be confused with meese, which is not a thing – and the elk, including the one that ran in front of us while we were on the motorcycle. We also saw lot of chipmunks, marmots, geese, and a mouse that ran across the floor of our cabin.
Be prepared to spend lots of money. Ok, hiking is free and camping is cheaper than cabins and motels. But I camped when I ran the Yosemite half marathon and knew I needed a real bed this time. We also decided to try all the local beers along the way, and didn’t find any happy hours!
We spent the last day in Montana. I completed the Yellowstone half marathon (while we probably walked that every day) and we wrapped it up with a five mile hike to Storm Castle. I called it quits after that, so we headed to Bozeman for our last night. They say you only regret the things you didn’t do – we will have no such regrets. After 3 states, 2 half marathons, 2 bears, many mountains, and 1 motorcycle ride it was time to head home.
Tips:
- Take t
he Aerial Tram in Teton village or hike to the top of Rendezvous Mt. There was still snow, and it’s windy (like Mt. Washburn) but we watched about ten paragliders take off from the top in spectacular form. - Step off the very well beaten sidewalk path if you are physically able – it’s worth it.
- Breath. The air and smell of pine is lovely.
- Get on the water. The area has many lakes. You can take a scenic cruise, kayak, canoe or fishing trip to get a new perspective.
- Eat bison burgers!
- Visit the Grand Prismatic Spring – pictures don’t do it justice.
- See the stars – no, seriously. Someone please do it and report back, I was always too tired!
