The magic words for today are Chicken and Talkeetna. No, you don't have to use both of them in a sentence for the next FWA reading meeting. These two words are the names of some of the towns Susan Haley has been experiencing during her Alaskan sojourn.
Chicken is the home of the well-known Chicken Creek Cafe where it is said you can get a "fantastic lunch." Chicken is also the home of the Chicken Creek Gold Camp RV Park. And, yes, gold actually WAS mined at the Chicken Creek Gold Camp from 1938 to 1967. Chicken also has its own Post Master and U.S. Post Office where mail, we are told, can be picked up "twice a week." Sorry, no UPS Overnight Delivery.
If you're thinking about moving to Chicken, Susan assures us that "they do have a new school, a volunteer fire department, and a 911 system with a medical facility." Free helicoptor service to Anchorage is also provided for those with medical emergencies. What more could one ask, right?
Talkeetna, Susan tells us, is a "Different world. Different values. Different culture." ... The residents, she insists, want no part of "progress" and don't care much for a certain politician who describes herself as a gun totin' "rogue." "Everyone [in Talkeetna] pretty much has electricity," Susan says, "but many come to town for free water and hot showers and laundry. The most popular vehicle is an ATV in the summer and a snowmobile or dog team in the winter. No traffic, no redlights, no sales tax, and neighbors are family." Susan was so enthralled by this particular town that she'd "love to spend a whole summer right here in Talkeetna."
One of the recent highlights of Susan's rambles with her son, Billy, daughter-in-law Karen, and granddog, B.B. McPup, was their recent bush pilot flight through the Alaska Range that includes Denali. In fact, the pilot flew all the way around the massive mountain. Since Denali is 20,263 feet above sea level, the passengers and pilot all had to wear oxygen masks anytime the plane climbed above 18,000 feet.
Of the people who climb Denali the old fashioned way, with ropes and crampons, Susan says, "only 50% make it to the top where [the temperature often] drops to 40 below 0 in the SUMMER! ... Personally," Susan adds, "I'd rather not even try [to climb Denali] even if I could. I can't imagine surviving 40 below and god only knows what the wind chill factor would be."
The next update from Susan could come at anytime now, depending on the availability of internet service. In the meantime, additional background and beautiful photos of the Haley's Alaskan Adventure are available at www.thehaleyhiatus.blogspot.com. Check it out.
Posted by
Russ Heitz
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Monday, July 05, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sue's Alaskan Adventures Abound
At this very moment, Susan Haley is somewhere in Alaska on another adventure with her son, Billy, and his wife, Karen, and their special canine family member, BB McPup. I had a long adventure-filled email from Sue and I promised I'd pass at least some of the info along to all of her friends down here in Civilization Land.
If you haven't heard, Billy and Karen have been touring the states since January in their pickup truck and pull-along trailer and they insisted that Sue join them for at least part of their Alaskan episodes. For those who are interested in Alaska, check out Karen's very interesting and beautifully photographed blog at www.thehaleyhiatus.blogspot.com.
As for Sue's experiences in the past week or so, here's a few quotes from her email.
"Never did I fully comprehend the utter joy of experiencing my first viewing close up of a wolf in his own domain. No words can describe it."
"The wolf and the fox actually stalked right down the road along side us totally oblivious to our presence. [The wolf] was zeroed in on the herd of Dall Sheep about 50 feet off the road. The fox ... on the horseshoe hare we stopped to view. The fox just came out of a clump of bush. He was gorgeous, tri-colored with a magnificant tail that literally drug the ground!"
"We saw a herd of Dall Sheep [and] the lone wolf (later we saw his mate laying outside their den, which had been staked off and closed to all foot trafic, even the rangers left them alone. The guide said they had four pups but we didn't get to see them."
"This is the rest of the list which I will describe more fully later. All were magnificent! 2 large male grizzlies. 1 mama grizzly with two cubs. (Spectacular to see!). She was playing with them. 3 large grizzlies traveling together. ... A mama moose with two calves drinking in a stream not ten feet away! ... Our second mama grizzly this time nursing two little guys! One was blonde and one was dark chocolate. She, too, ignored us!"
She also saw "a beautiful huge golden eagle gliding over a canyon. Many birds and beautiful meadows of wildflowers. ... Saw several ground squirrels and we were lucky to see a huge beaver house and community but the beavers weren't home."
"It's like being in another world. "The Mountain" or as the Natives call it "Denallee" formerly known as Mt. McKinley is so massive that it is only fully visable 20% of the time. We were most fortunate to view both the south and the north summits at 20,849 feet but a huge hunk of the middle was cloud covered. Then we saw the glacier base."
"We learned that in total rock bulk, the "Mountain" is bigger than Everest and since it's a 'young' mountain, it may someday surpass Everest in height, too."
"The scenery is magnificent. Cool days but if the sun comes out for the whole day, one ends up in shirt sleeves. It never gets totally dark. Sunset is 1:30-ish a.m. and sunrise is 3:30-ish a.m. Really weird when trying to keep track of day and time."
All of that, I might add, happened during Sue's first few days in Alaska. Who knows what's she's done and seen since then. But have no fear. Whenever she sends an update, I'll be sure to share it with all of you. By the way, you can still send emails to Sue but don't bog her down with a lot of "writing business stuff" right now. Remember, she's on VACATION! And she can't always get back to you because WiFi service in Alaska is spotty at best. And that can be a Very Good Thing -- especially when you're on a vacation!
Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com
If you haven't heard, Billy and Karen have been touring the states since January in their pickup truck and pull-along trailer and they insisted that Sue join them for at least part of their Alaskan episodes. For those who are interested in Alaska, check out Karen's very interesting and beautifully photographed blog at www.thehaleyhiatus.blogspot.com.
As for Sue's experiences in the past week or so, here's a few quotes from her email.
"Never did I fully comprehend the utter joy of experiencing my first viewing close up of a wolf in his own domain. No words can describe it."
"The wolf and the fox actually stalked right down the road along side us totally oblivious to our presence. [The wolf] was zeroed in on the herd of Dall Sheep about 50 feet off the road. The fox ... on the horseshoe hare we stopped to view. The fox just came out of a clump of bush. He was gorgeous, tri-colored with a magnificant tail that literally drug the ground!"
"We saw a herd of Dall Sheep [and] the lone wolf (later we saw his mate laying outside their den, which had been staked off and closed to all foot trafic, even the rangers left them alone. The guide said they had four pups but we didn't get to see them."
"This is the rest of the list which I will describe more fully later. All were magnificent! 2 large male grizzlies. 1 mama grizzly with two cubs. (Spectacular to see!). She was playing with them. 3 large grizzlies traveling together. ... A mama moose with two calves drinking in a stream not ten feet away! ... Our second mama grizzly this time nursing two little guys! One was blonde and one was dark chocolate. She, too, ignored us!"
She also saw "a beautiful huge golden eagle gliding over a canyon. Many birds and beautiful meadows of wildflowers. ... Saw several ground squirrels and we were lucky to see a huge beaver house and community but the beavers weren't home."
"It's like being in another world. "The Mountain" or as the Natives call it "Denallee" formerly known as Mt. McKinley is so massive that it is only fully visable 20% of the time. We were most fortunate to view both the south and the north summits at 20,849 feet but a huge hunk of the middle was cloud covered. Then we saw the glacier base."
"We learned that in total rock bulk, the "Mountain" is bigger than Everest and since it's a 'young' mountain, it may someday surpass Everest in height, too."
"The scenery is magnificent. Cool days but if the sun comes out for the whole day, one ends up in shirt sleeves. It never gets totally dark. Sunset is 1:30-ish a.m. and sunrise is 3:30-ish a.m. Really weird when trying to keep track of day and time."
All of that, I might add, happened during Sue's first few days in Alaska. Who knows what's she's done and seen since then. But have no fear. Whenever she sends an update, I'll be sure to share it with all of you. By the way, you can still send emails to Sue but don't bog her down with a lot of "writing business stuff" right now. Remember, she's on VACATION! And she can't always get back to you because WiFi service in Alaska is spotty at best. And that can be a Very Good Thing -- especially when you're on a vacation!
Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com
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