Alaska 2: Denali and Fairbanks

Nexy day I had to get up very early, and leave in the dark, because I had a very long drive ahead of me: All the way from Seward to Fairbanks (via Denali National Park) - a 800km trip. I was a bit worried about the snow, and the resulting poor weather conditions. Indeed, when I left there was snow on many stretches of the main road to Anchorage, and at times there was such a dense snowfall that visibility was very poor, too.

Not far behind Anchorage it became so bad that I was very close to turning around, because all you could do were about 20 miles per hour. It would take ages to get to Fairbanks! But luckily it soon cleared up a bit, and became successively better, and at times even the sun came out!

Denali National Park - Alaska's most famous National Park with Mount McKinley (North America's highest mountain) - was closed for most parts. However, in the education center they had a temporary visitor center and it was possible to have a look at the exhibits there. I was unable to see Mount McKinley because it was still heavily snowing from where it would have been visible...

The Cantwell Post Office - I sent a small parcel home to my parents from
there - I wonder how long it takes?

Juts before Fairbanks I had a flat tire, and just made it to a gas station. However, their air supply was broken, so I limped to MIDAS, just a few meters down the road. They were just about to close, but put the spare on and said I shall come back first thing next morning. They were fully booked for the next few days, but made an exception for me - very friendly. The evening and all next morning I spent a lot of time on the phone, battling with ALAMO for payment of the new tire. They refused with the weirdest excuses, then said they'd give me another car, but only had a Hummer and one with a broken windshield. The latter was out of the question for obvious reasons, and the former was out of the question as well - I would need nto tow a tanker behind it! In addition they wanted exactly the same tire on the car, and that tire was not available in Fairbanks. MIDAS called all over the place, but nobody there has Dunlop anyway. Finally, I had enough, asked them to put the cheapest possible tire on it and that's it. The guys at MIDAS were incredibly friendly and helpful. Two staff there spent hours calling around, yelling at ALAMO telling them how ridicukous they are, etc. When I finally had the tire on, I went and got them some chocolates - they were just great! Thus, beware of ALAMO in Alaska! They are franchises, and not coordinated at all!

The rest of the time in Fairbanks I drove around town a bit, and also to the trnas Alaska pipeline - if you don't have tourist attractions, you make some ;-)

The airport was full of old aircraft - most of them out of service, but also some still flying for cargo airlines...

After about 1000 kilometers of snow and ice....

The next day was mostly sunny (and very cold), so it looked good for my drive back. When driving over the hills right out of Fairbanks you could see Mt McKinley in the far distance, so I was to see it this time when I got closer to Denali. Well, that's what I thought, because just before I got there it clouded in again...

Sunrise in Alaska

I saw this coyote in kind of a valley next to the main road. I stopped and took
some photos, but after a while he was unsure and ran away...


The squirrel in Denali National Park was too fast and ran away, too...

Moving house... The two trucks in the back were actually attached to the rig and pushed from behind.
I have never seen that on the road - just with trains...

Icy river

Back in Anchorage I had the day before I flew out, so I spent it in the surrounding area. I stayed a while on the coast in hope to see some Beluga whales, but was not lucky - maybe not the season?

I also spent some time at Potter Marsh - a beautiful marsh right out of Anchorage with great bird viewing facilities. The peace on the photos is misleading though - it was very cold and windy!

I also went "around the corner" in hope to see a glacier there, but as soon as you "turned the corner" and got in the next valley, it closed in again, and it was snowing and foggy. But I saw my first iceberg - well a tiny version of it anyway ;-)

Alaska 1: Kenai Peninsula

Early in the morning I made my way back to LAX and took United to Seattle, and then Alaska Airlines to Anchorage. I arrived in the afternoon and quickly picked up my rental car. I had a hotel reservation for Seward, so it was a bit of a drive down south on the Kenai Peninsula. The drive was stunningly beautiful, with colourful trees, lakes, and snow-topped mountains. On the way, I saw a bald eagle...

Just out of Anchorage...

...and on the Peninsula the sun came out!

When I arrived in Seward, it was cold, quite windy with a few flurries. Next morning there was snow everywhere! I made my way to the Kenai Fjords National Park to take the 2hr-hike to Exit Glacier, but when I arrived at the access road a ranger was just closing the gate. He said it was far too much snow up there, and so dense snowfall and fog that you can't see anything anyway.

Thus, I had to switch to Plan B: The Alaska SeaLife Center. It started snowing heavily, and I took the following video on the car park.

At the car park there was also the Mile 0 marker of the historic Iditarod Trail from Seward to Nome.

The Alaska Sea Life Center had a number of very nice exhibits, including interactive displays, a touch pool, a seabird area and other animals.

The Exxon Valdez accident is still an important topic, as evidenced
by the photos in the Sea Life Center.

Big appetite...

Some views of Seward and surrounding:

Right at the waterfront, close to the Sea Life Center there were a couple of bald eagles sitting on poles. Amazing how close you can get to these beautiful animals!

When I drove along the unpaved coastal road, I suddenly spotted a sea otter not far away in the water. On the way back there were three of them. All busy fishing and eating...

Yummy starfish!