An Alaskan Adventure
A Travelogue
by
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On the road again! Where to stop; where to lay our tired heads? According to “The Milepost”, at mile marker 121.5 there is a paved/double ended rest area with tables, fire pits, drinking water, toilets, shade trees, and a lush growth of cow parsnip. This all sounded well and good, but it was the word “lush” that caught my eye and this was the deciding factor for our stopping there. Upon arriving, we were overjoyed because this place turned out to be one of those magical spots you chance upon once every so often. The rest area was a state park with several roads crossing its length. At the end of each road was a parking area to accommodate RV’s or campers. As promised, outhouses were available, but they were not very inviting. Gayle was grateful that we have our own toilet with us. However, as promised, the campground was lush. A short distance from where we parked, I located a picnic table, barbecue grill, and water well by hacking through the foliage with my machete. The well was equipped with an old-fashioned hand-pump and looked like something out of a farmer Brown cartoon. We parked and leveled the RV. The sun was shining brightly and we sat there in awe. It was as if we found the Garden of Eden. Trees were everywhere and we were surrounded by fire weed and cow parsnip that grew higher than our heads. The area was so green it looked like a commercial for Clorettes. Fire weed grows everywhere in these northern climes, especially where trees are absent. It is the first foliage to pop up after a forest fire, which gave the plant its name. Its blossoms are a bright purple and in the spring, forest fire scorched hills are shrouded under a vivid purple blanket. It truly is a beautiful sight. I walked the dogs down a trial marked “scenic view” and as I did, I wondered how much of a view I would find. I didn’t have to go far to find out. After a hundred yards or so, looking up, it became apparent that I was running out of woods. Blue sky was beginning to dominate the view. I soon heard a river and upon walking several yards further, I realized I was on a ridge overlooking a rapidly flowing river about one-hundred feet below where I stood. The drop down to the river was steep and heavily wooded such that the view was obscured no matter where I stood. I gleefully returned to the RV and fetched Gayle to show her my discovery. Why RV? What’s it all about? Why go to Alaska? Good questions! I think camping in this remote spot at mile marker 121.5 answers them all. First, there was no entry fee to be here, but that is not the point. Here we were, in our beautiful home away from home, at a location unknown to most, even many of the people who live here and for a short period of time, it was ours. It wasn’t part of the United States and it wasn’t part of Alaska. It wasn’t a part of any of these man made artificialities, it was ours. We owned it, lock stock and barrel; and it owned us. That’s the important part. By being there, it became a part of us and we became a part of it. This relationship was fleeting, but what isn’t in life? The important thing is that it happened, if only for a short period of time and Gayle and I are better off for it. No one who lives in a fixed home and has never RV’ed, will ever be able to imagine what this feels like. The next morning, we broke camp and headed south on the Parks Highway. After traveling five miles, I noticed a group of people on the shoulder taking pictures. As I passed, I wondered what they taking pictures of? This road has looked the same for the past 20 miles and I did not see any special reason for stopping there. Passing them, I looked into my rear view mirror in and the answer to my question was obvious. There in all his glory, framed squarely in my rear view mirror, stood Denali; naked without any clouds to shield him from view. Slowing, I found a place to turn around and drove back to join the others paying homage to this magnificent god. The sky was cloudless, unfortunately there was some smoke in the air, but through the haze, there stood Denali, naked for all to see. No clouds and no jet stream; just the sky and the High One. If you ever come to Alaska, see Denali. You will not be the same afterwards.
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About the Book
Alan Adaschik’s dream was to visit Alaska; America’s last frontier and a place which abounds with wildlife and unspoiled wilderness. Upon retirement, Al and his wife Gayle sold everything and bought a thirty-seven foot Damon Intruder motor home to make his dream a reality. “An Alaskan Adventure” is a narrative about Al and Gayle’s trip which highlights the places they visited and the wonderful things they experienced along the way. “An Alaskan Adventure” commences in Indiana following a visit with Al’s relatives who live there. After negotiating the traffic jams of Chicago, Al and Gayle traveled I-94 across the northern Great Plains visiting Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana along the way. Heading north, they visited Glacier National Park and continued on to tour Yoho, Banff, and Jasper national parks in Canada. Afterwards, Al & Gayle picked up the Alaskan Highway which took them to a realization of Al’s dream. The reminder of the book is about Al & Gayle’s travels around the Great Alaskan Triangle, a circuit of 900 miles defined by the cities of Tok, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. While negotiating this triangle, Al and Gayle’s primary goals were to find gold in one of the many streams they crossed and to also find a Wooly Mammoth frozen in a glacier. Toward this end, they took side trips to the White Mountains National Recreation Area, Denali National Park, The Top of the World Highway, and the towns of Homer and Chicken. “An Alaskan Adventure” is not just a book about touring Alaska. Al is an environmentalist and a theme evident throughout the book is that the beauty we find around us is fleeting and that if we, as a species, continue to over-populate our world, what we see and value so highly is sure to go away.