We broke up the five hour drive from Anchorage to Denali with a few stops. We did a couple of short hikes to take in some waterfalls and try to spot some birds.
We did a hike at the Eagle River Nature Center, where we hoped to see some birds and maybe some bears eating fish, but also, saw few of the former and none of the latter. The cover photo is from the same spot as this picture, but looking the other direction.
Here is a black-capped chickadee. We saw so few birds!
We both loved the tall skinny firs we saw all over in Alaska.
Thunderbird Falls.
We stopped at an “Iditarod Museum” but it was more a gift shop with some signs and pictures in the other room. Here’s a statue of Joe Redington, who was instrumental in getting the Iditarod race going.
At the Iditarod “museum”, this statue is “dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.”
Some Iditarod stats:
The race begins the first Saturday in March. The first official race was in 1973.
Only 10 women have finished in the top 10.
On average, 40-50 entrants start the race, of which 25% are women. 70-75% of the field finishes.
Only Siberian Huskies or Alaskan Malamute dogs are allowed to race. The dogs need to consume 10,000 to 12,000 calories per day.
The dogs wear booties, and the driver must have an extra 8 booties per dog on his sled. Each team is 12-16 dogs, so that’s a lot of booties!
The trail is more than 1,000 miles, and alternates between a northern and southern route. It takes about 10 days.
I suppose I can see why it’s called Reflection Lake.
Another view of Reflection lake, with a grebe making its way across. It was a gray, gray day for most of our walk.
Eklutna Historical Park, which has been inhabited by the Athabaskan people since 1650. In the early 1800s Russian Orthodox missionaries came along, and their traditions blended with the local customs. In this case, it resulted in building Spirit Houses over the graves of the deceased.
As per Athabascan tradition, that which is taken from the Earth must be allowed to return, so the spirit houses are not maintained over the years. Some of the houses looked brand new, like this one, while others were in a state of complete decay.
South Fork Falls in Eagle River.
Here is a short video of South Fork Falls. They were moving!
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Love this post. So glad your trip wasn’t completely in vain, this looks really nice, and fun.
We know how to make the most of things!