It has been well over six months since I've graced my blog with key strokes. Sorry about that, if you found yourself missing reading my ramblings. Since this blog thing is suppose to be about Alaska and my experiences up here, I figure it's appropriate that I continue where I left off. Let's see where was that again? Oh yeah, it was mid-April and I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of spring, only to be disappointed by the newly fallen foot or more of snow. Lucky for me, and anyone else who doesn't care for that white nonsense that falls from the sky, it didn't stick for long.
A week or so after my last post, our best friend from California, "Colin," arrived in Anchorage to join us in our relocation to Denali National Park for the summer. We hung out here in "the city" for a week and then we loaded up the trusty black beast (after a trip to Costco in which we somehow ended up with a 30 pack of un-rung-in Coors Lite...nice) and began our 238.4 mile drive up the George Parks Highway. Destination: The Grande Denali Lodge. More on that later.
This five, yes five, hour drive took us through the towns of Wasilla, Houston, Willow, Talkeetna, and Cantwell. Maybe in that order, maybe not. Either way, it's close to accurate. The weather was nice (meaning there was none) and I drove the whole way at about 50-55 mph. Reason for this snail pace was to enjoy the gorgeous Alaska scenery which included an unobstructed Mt. McKinley (Denali) and many rivers, gulches, other snow capped mountains, etc. We did make one stop so the boys could shoot a rifle. . .
Boys!
So, we arrive in "glitter gulch" (a term coined by locals, so I'm told, of the area just outside the park where all the hotels/restaurants are located). This is where we would be living for the next 4 months. We arrived a few days earlier than the majority of the seasonal workers and because of this, we got to help clean the restaurant where we'd be working. This was actually fun, because Wiley, Colin and I got to set up the bar how we deemed fit. This task, though fun, was challenging because whoever designed the bar at The Alpenglow (located inside the Grande Denali Lodge) had obviously just graduated kindergarten and didn't know the first thing about bars or working in one for that matter. That's neither here nor there.
Part of the joy of relocating to a somewhat remote location to work, was that we got to live on site. This was a new experience for me and the boys. The hotel/restaurant was situated high on the side of Sugarloaf Mountain and employee housing was located slightly further down on the bluffs...coincidentally adjacent to The Denali Bluffs Hotel (the other hotel ran by the same company). And yes, we worked there, too.
Maybe a week after our arrival to "glitter gulch" we started to see other workers trickle in. A vast majority of these workers were from Serbia and Bulgaria. Turns out, Serbians and Bulgarians are -for lack of betters adjectives at the moment- friggin' awesome people! We ended up making so many friends from these foreign lands that I think a trip to these places for a visit is in order! Yes indeed. Later, we'd meet people from Moldova, The Dominican Republic, Macedonia, Ukraine...that's all I can think of at this time. They were all such interesting people. Thank goodness for Facebook, am I right?
So, working at the Grande/Bluffs was "a'ight." Our bosses and co-workers really made the whole waiting on crotchity ol' folks bearable. My questions right now are, "Why don't young people come visit Alaska," and if they do, "Why don't they come to Denali?" Just sayin'.
We didn't make the big bucks this summer as we had hoped, but you couldn't put a price on the experience. That's my opinion. I feel that Wiley and I lucked out and had the most awesome neighbors we could have hoped for. Colin and CJ shared a bathroom with us and next door were Tim & Araceli (a couple who had returned to Alaska to work another season). Building C was full of F&B staff, and bartenders in particular. Just across the porch were Jared and Ryan ("The Robinsons" as they were so affectionately categorized); brothers from Kansas whom Wiley and I had both worked with at the Embassy Suites in Anchorage. Jared and Ryan were, well, Jared and Ryan. Special, they are. We'll leave it at that. Having all these folks as neighbors made the summer a fantasic one. It wasn't just these guys however, it was the collection of beings that congregated on our porch nearly every night that helped make countless memories.
So far, I've only talked about the grounds and the people of our summer work place. I haven't even mentioned the park! So here we go...
Remember that this is from my perspective. I didn't get to see the park as many did because I never ventured further than we were allowed to drive. The first time into the park, we were able to drive in 30 miles. Later, once the toutists, AKA "Blue Hairs," AKA "Crotchity ol' folks" arrived, we could only drive to Savage River (15 miles). On this first trip, Colin, Wiley and I saw a mecca, a slew, a glorious variety of wildlife! Such wildlife included; a grizzly bear on the side of the road, moose, ptarmagains, and a lynx! It was my first but not last time seeing a grizzly bear in the wild. It was, however, my first and last time this summer that I'd laid eyes on a lynx. Oh well, I live in Alaska year round. There will be more opportunities.
The park is beautiful and wild and one of my absolute favorite things to do this past summer (besides trying in vain to make Brian's hair look like Edward Cullen's) was to just drive in those 15 miles by myself -usually after work- and take in the wonder of where I was.
Once August rolled around, it was time to start saying farewell to our new friends. Boy, I tell ya it was really hard to say bye to some people. But it was also hard to say bye to this new way of life that we'd discovered. It flew by, but will never be forgotten. Would I return for another season in Denali? You betcha! But it's the stunning backdrop that calls me back; the rainbows over the mountains after a fleeting rainstorm, the dramatic sunsets after midnight, the changing colors of the trees as they ready for winter, the pristine air, the wildlife! That's what will bring me back, not the crotchity ol' folks.
Perhaps throughout my time in Alaska and my returns to this blog, I'll share more stories of my summer in Denali. Each story could be pages and pages long. Next time, though, I want to talk about our crazy adventure in Wrangell St-Elias. 'Til next time, y'all! <3
