Granite - the rising of Denali - The Tall One

NB - this blog post was written on Saturday 17th of August at 8:30am. At the time I had limited internet access. So the current version was updated on Sunday the 18th of August at 9:00pm to add the photos and to correct some typos.

See the gap in the middle of the range, that's where Denali - the shy mountain is hiding

Granite

Today our mineral is Granite. Granite is a light-colored igneous rock which forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth's surface. Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar. Like the Basalt which I talked about last week, when we were in Hawai'i, which was the volcanic rock from which the islands were formed. So granite is our chosen mineral today because it forms the great peaks which are the centre of our visit Denali and its surrounding mountains.

Denali, and the whole of the 600 mile Alaskan Range of mountains, are formed due to the Pacific tectonic plate pushing north and going under the North American plate slowly pushing the ground up. The Denali Fault is the site of the largest formations because cooler magma is pushed to the top through the fault - hence the mountains being made of granite.

But enough with geology, time to give you a review of our day as we travelled north from Anchorage to Denali.

Breakfast

I woke at 4am and got on with the blog post about Anchorage.

Due to the slow internet connection (managed by the hotel I suspect). I wasn't able to add all the photos to Flickr, so my Flickr viewers will have to wait. Indeed they will need to wait another day, as connection is limited at Denali too.

I completed the blog post about Anchorage and at 7am Drew woke up and checked it before I posted it.


We went down for breakfast at 7:30am.

My two cheese omelettes - it being Friday

We have been eating Comfort Inn breakfasts since 2011 and like the quality of what they have to offer. It being Friday, it was two cheese omelettes plus a bagel with cream cheese for me. 

Drew's Turkey Sausage patties and Cheese Omelette

Drew had Turkey sausage and a cheese omelette and two small seeded muffins.

Alaska Native Heritage Centre

We left the hotel at 8:45am and headed to the Alaska Native Heritage Centre which was on our way out of town.

Alaska Native Heritage Centre

This impressive centre provides historical artefacts about the five main Native Alaskan people and an interpretation of their style of life, with buildings modelled on the real thing, around a lake in the grounds of the building.

Tradition and culture of the Native Alaskans

The five cultures in Alaska are the Athabascan; the Inupiaq/St. Lawrence Island Yupik; the Yup’ik/Cup’ik; the Aleut, Alutiiq; and the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. They range across wide geographical, but given the vast space in Alaska were not in conflict with one another. 

An Athabascan Winter Home

The Athabascan culture was in the area around Anchorage (both north and south of here) up to and beyond Fairbanks and across most of the Kenai Peninsula to the south (but not as far south as Homer.

Inupiaq use of animal skins

The Inupiaq/St. Lawrence Island Yupik were to the far North West, above Norton Sound and across what is most of Arctic Alaska indeed there trip also stretch into Northern Canada and Greenland. 

Yup’ik/Cup’ik it is important to keep warm

The Yup’ik/Cup’ik lived in the to the far west of Alaska between Norton Sound to the North and Bristol Bay to the South.

Seal whiskers being tied into the shoe, to show the prowess of the best hunters

The Aleut, Alutiiq people give their names to the Aleutian Islands that stretch from Alaska to Russia. They were people who lived in close relationship with the sea and as well as the islands they dominated the coastal regions of Cook Inlet, like Homer. 

A rich women on a Totem Pole - the chin piercing indicates gender
- see the real gold earrings

The Eyak, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian are four different peoples who roamed around the southernmost part of Alaska around Juneau and Glacier Bay.

It was fascinating to discover the different traditions, as the members of each group lived very different lives.

The photos, on Flickr, start here, and explain more than I can here. But some examples include the Athabascans who had winter cabins but lived in skin tents (like their southern cousins) in the summer.

The Yup'ik and Cup'ik whose houses were communal and 2/3rds under the ground. 

The Inupiq with their underground homes, looking like hobbit holes. Who shared everything because life was so fragile. They climbed in to their houses through holes above.

The Aleutians who also lived underground and relied on seals for almost everything. Seal whiskers, for example were a prize of the hunt and measured by being sewn on to footwear. 

The Unaniak, a subgroup of the Aleutians who had stairs as the way out of their homes and played Seal stomach drums. 

The Eyat and Tinguit whose culture based in the warmer climbs of Southern Alaska tended to have houses above ground of four or five levels. They created and decorated Totem Poles with the family story told in each pole.

We returned to the main building where some young native men were displaying a native sport called Alaskan Highball. This involves a mix of gymnastics and ball games. Like a high jump, there are three attempts getting higher and higher. The one with the highest kick wins (if two have the same score, the one with the lowest missed attempts wins). It was fascinating to watch and my poor attempts at video, don't do it justice. 

Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake

Our next stop was Mirror Lake, this lake is in the Chugach State Park and is clear as crystal providing reflections of the trees and mountains around it. We enjoyed the quiet calm the lake provided and took a lot of photos both of the mountains and their reflection in the lake.

Thunderbird Falls

Thunderbird Falls

The gorge created by the River Eklutna is a deep valley with a fast moving steam through it. We were able to walk a half mile to the gorge overview and another half mile to the falls viewing area. While the climb was steep it was well marked out and a relatively easy walk. Drew was happy to have found somewhere we needed to walk, as he was worried our step count would drop with all these drive-in viewing places. It was worth the walk as the falls were pretty and very, very loud.

Eklutna Lake

Eklutna Lake

We continued to follow the Eklutna River until it came to Eklutna Lake. This lake is the main source of water for the City of Anchorage, so there are plenty of signs asking to avoid you, or your pet, from soiling it! <<Co-pilot's note: He could have told me dear readers, he knows I don't read signs 😂 >> 

Eklutna Lake

The Lake itself is a stunning body of water. At this time in the early afternoon (it was just after Midday) it is bright and twinkly with light catching it from the bright sun and being reflected all around.

Local families were on the edge of the lake having picnics and the scene was generally one of calm and contentment.

Talkeetna

Nagley's Store - Talkeetna

We had planned to stop and eat at the town of Talkeetna since we saw Michael Portillo visit it on his rail tour of Alaska. 

Talkeetna Artists Market

Talkeetna is a quaint little town filled with artist's studios and places to eat. Though it is visited by the trains, when the Parks Road was built it missed the town, so it has to work hard to attack visitors down the 14 mile road from the main route. There is no through road (the river forms the end of the town and it is wide and swift). So visitors have to go back the 14 miles they came. 

Talkeetna Roadhouse

The sights around the river are enough of a motivation to visit, but we also had the opportunity to eat, and stopped at the quirky, but delightful Talkeetna Roadhouse.

Mac and Cheese

I had a generous portion of Mac and cheese (as it is Friday). The pasta was cooked in cheddar, with American Jack on the top and parmesan scraped over that - cheesy heaven. 

Home Fries and Chilli

Drew had home fries with chilli (half and half) with extra cheese and onion. I say half and half, not to mean the Cardiff phrase for chips and rice, but because at the roadhouse they make chilli with beans (no meat) and reindeer (no beans), but they do allow a 50:50 mix of the two to be served, and that was what Drew had.

The Roadhouse served its food family style, but luckily, we were left alone as a twosum on a table for seven. Drew tends to avoid family style food presentation as it involves him having to talk to stranger, not something he enjoys. 

Denali Viewpoint (South)

Views of the Denali Range, with Denali hiding in the clouds

From Talkeetna we travelled the 98 miles north to the first of the Denali viewing points. The Denali Viewpoint (South) is located at the 134-135 milepost on the Parks Highway (AK-3) and provides some amazing, unobstructed, panoramic views of the Alaskan Range. Indeed, even with the clouds rolling across them, the mountains looked very impressive indeed. With the hugh glacial river, the River Chilitna, that starts in the mountains flowing below us, the impact is immense.

River Chiltna

We were warned before coming here that Denali, because of its immense size, produces its own weather. And most of the signs at the viewing point mentioned that Denali hides itself behind clouds for most of the day. So though we could see Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter, Crow's Feet and three or four others whose names I've forgotten, but Denali (The Tall One, or The Great One, depending on whose translation you accept) was doing a good job of hiding itself.

Denali Viewpoint (North)

Denali Mountain Range in the distance

28 Miles north of Denali Viewpoint (South) is Denali Viewpoint (North). This area also provides a good view of the mountains, but from a different angle. The trees here are larger than those at the south viewpoint, so they obstruct some of the mountain photos. But, as you'll see when we can Flickr them, they are still great views. All be it with even more cloud than before.

Denali Perch Resort

Denali Perch Resort

As we left the viewpoint we realised that the weather the mountains had created was starting to affect us, as it began to rain. Only in small splashes to begin with, but in increasing intensity as we moved north. We could have been worse off, as people in the depth of the Denali park were cut-off by rain and mud at the same time as we were having a small shower. Even the railroad was affected.

On leaving the viewpoint we headed North again, this time 48 miles to the place we are stopping for the night, Denali Perch Resort. 

Cabin 11 - Denali Perch Resort

My previous attempts at log-cabin living have not been a great success. With a buffalo blocking my way to breakfast when I stayed in one in Yellowstone and a bed that wanted to eat me (and drown me) in Yosemite. So I was a bit nervous about what we would experience tonight. However the cabin is warm and comfortable, and more like a chalet than a real cabin in the woods. Though in the woods alongside a river with the mountains either side of us, it truly is!

Dinner - or when Drew almost didn't get fed

Staying at the Perch we had two options, their restaurant at the top of the hill - with a perch overlooking the mountains - or the Pizzeria which is a few 100 yards from our Cabin on the same level. Drew, who is always ready to have a pizza, agreed we should choose this option. 

Nachos

The Pizzeria is in a larger log cabin than the apartments and has an modern open feel. We were quickly given menus and I choose for my starters Nachos which were described as Taco Chips with chilli spiced beans, onions, jalapenos, and black olives served with fresh salsa and cilantro (coriander) drizzle.

Dirty Hippy Pizza

Then I opted for a 12" pizza called the Dirty Hippy with Marinara sauce with shredded carrots, red cabbage, arugula, crimini mushrooms, roasted garlic, peppers, pickled red onion, sprouts, tomatoes and fresh herb. It is Friday so no meat on either of my dishes.

Drew's Pizza when it finally arrived

Drew opted for a small Caesar salad and a simple 12" pizza with pepperoni and jalapenos.

My nachos came out first and they were HUGE, as you can see above. My pizza shortly followed, but no sign of Drew's. After about 20 minutes of me munching on my two dishes, a 18" pizza was delivered to the people who were sitting at the next table. They were 80% through a 12" pizza. This led to some confusion among the staff until it became clear that the mother and son on the neighbouring table had received Drew's pizza and thought that the caesar salad had come as a bonus they did not order and had noted the pizza was smaller than they expected and didn't have sausage on it (as their order was for sausage, pepperoni and jalapenos). But they just thought it was a mistake and it was close enough!!

Finally, after a new one was made Drew got his pizza and thoroughly enjoyed it, especially enjoying being the victim. "Next time they'll make me sit outside the door" etc.

The mother and son went away, apologetically, with 6 of the 8 pieces of their actual pizza they had ordered in a box (having finished Drew's). So the restaurant was down two pizzas, as the mother and son only paid for their real one and Drew's bill was just for the diet cokes he had had.

We laughed our way back to the Cabin and got to bed at 10.00pm, with dire warnings of me being sent up into the loft if I snored. (As my brother in law, Martin, will remember from Yellowstone, when I do sleep in cabins I am prone to snore.)