Alaska Day 6

Wow! I actually slept really well last night. It is only one a degree warmer this morning than it was yesterday but I guess that was enough to make a difference because I was not cold.

I was quite comfortable. I got to bed late. We all did. With a midnight sun it’s hard to go to bed early because it still feels like daytime. We sat at the campfire until midnight.

Six hours of sleep might not seem like much but I feel so much more awake this morning than the last few mornings. Even my bladder let me sleep.

Last night we watched the cats on the ring camera. In the middle of the night, Bean and Dante were sitting on the kitchen floor near the back door as if wondering if we were ever going to come back home. They looked so sad. I felt so bad.

After breakfast, we broke camp and then headed off to the visitor center to catch a bus to the sled dog kennel in order to go to a ranger led program.  At the kennel, we were permitted to pet the dogs which made me happy, but it also made me think of Dad. Learning about the dogs and getting to interact with them is something he would have greatly enjoyed. The dogs were either chained to a post or in a caged area. They do, however, get taken off the chains daily for exercise. Volunteer walkers come to the park to take them on long walks in the warmer months. Sled dogs are working dogs, not pets, although many of them seemed to really like the attention they get from tourists. They came right up to the ropes and let us give them a bit of love.

The dogs have been residents of the park since the early days of its establishment. In 1906, Charles Sheldon visited what is now Denali. Like many prospectors searching for gold, he discovered that hunting in the Alaskan wilderness was far mor lucrative than prospecting. However, most hunters were overhunting the Dall sheep and Sheldon feared this might lead to their extinction. He returned to the lower 48 and spent the next decade lobbying the government to create a park for the purpose of protecting the sheep. In 1917, Mount McKinley National Park was created. But creating a park to preserve wildlife is one thing, actually protecting them is another. Shortly after the park was established. Harry Karstens was appointed to be the superintendent. His job was to prevent poachers from slaughtering sheep and other animals. At the time the park was smaller, but even 1.6 million acres wasn’t easy to patrol. Add to that the winter snow and it was even more of a daunting task. In order to be able to make rounds of the park to keep poachers out, Karstens introduced sled dogs. The dogs enabled him to cover a great deal of territory even in the coldest snowiest months. With the help of his dogs, Karstens succeeded in significantly reducing poaching in the park.

Starting in 1980, when the name and designation of the park changed (becoming a preserve as well as a park) the job of the dogs shifted. They were no longer needed to patrol for poachers. Instead, they now haul materials for construction on various trails. They also haul research equipment as well as researchers. They are also called upon to make trails for people visiting the park in the winter for winter recreation.

Once upon a time, owning sled dogs was hugely common in Alaska. Dogs are more reliable than car engines in the extreme cold. But now, many people have been forced to give up that way of life because it has become too expensive to keep the dogs fed. Alaska has an abundance on animals which can be eaten, but this food is dispersed over vast territory. The most concentrated food is in the sea, which is why indigenous people mostly lived off of it. But they weren’t the only ones. Even sled dogs had a predominantly seafood diet. Years ago, one hundred percent of fishing was for subsistence. Now, ninety-seven percent of fishing is commercial and only two percent is for subsistence. This has driven up prices for dog food to the point where many can no longer afford it.

The Denali sled dogs work until they are nine. After that they are put up for adoption and first preference for taking them home goes to the volunteers who work with them.

Have you seen the movie Into the Wild? Are you familiar with Chris McCandless death in Alaska? Kati had us watch the movie before coming to Alaska. McCandless graduated college in the 90s, burned his money—who does that?—hitchhiked out west, and made his way up to Alaska to live off the land. Outside Denali, he found an abandoned bus and decided to live in it. Despite having a book denoting edible plants, he ate poisonous ones and died. Just north of the entrance to Denali is 49th State Brewery. En Route to Fairbanks, we stopped there. Not to get a beer. But because they have a replica of the McCandless’ bus and Kati wanted to see it. Inside the bus was a timeline with pictures of McCandless’ short life in Alaska. Kati thought it was cool to see, but she will not be satisfied until she knows why the bus was abandoned and left for McCandless to find.

My gosh, the pizza in Alaska keeps getting better. Maybe nothing will rival that cheese bread in Denali, but The House of Fire in Fairbanks has perhaps the best pizza I’ve eaten in the United States, New York included. Seriously, the sauce was good, the cheese was tasty, and the thin crust was cooked perfectly. The ovens are imported from Naples, Italy and I wonder if that somehow improves the taste.

After lunch, we stopped in at the cultural center in Fairbanks since they have a visitors center and we figured we’d inquire what might be interesting to do in the area. I was happy to see that the National Park had an office since they are always a fantastic resource. The ranger we spoke to was super excited to share everything she knew, not just about Fairbanks but about all of Alaska. She’s explored enough of the surrounding area and the national parks to give us advice on what to see and do for the duration of our trip. I enjoyed chatting with her because every question we asked was answered with another map and an enthusiastic suggestion. I don’t think I have ever met a ranger in any other park who was as animated as she was or that had so many oddly placed colorful bows in their hair. What a pleasure to have spoken to her.

Following our conversation, we popped into see Pioneer Town, the ranger’s recommendation for a bit of history in the city. All I can say is, you know it was bad if I was bored. I am glad it was free to enter or I would have felt like I wasted my money. In part of the park were long cabins from the Gold Rush days. According to the ranger, sometime in the 60s, the cabins were removed from their original locations and relocated to the park where they were converted into restaurants and gift shops. Outside each cabin is a sign indicating who lived in the cabin or what it might have been used for. It was cool to see the cabins and snap a few photos but after ten minutes I was ready to leave. While walking around, I was stopped by a guy who noticed my Boy Scout cap and he asked me if we were in town for the local Boy Scout summer camp. I said no, that we were just here on vacation. He also noticed my Philmont shirt and said he and his son were there last summer. I said that’s when we were also there. He then went on to make a few recommendations of things to do while in town, including another pizza place. Considering the pizza has been so good, I am apt to want to try it.

We are staying at a KOA in the North Pole—the most northern KOA—which is about a fifteen minute drive from Fairbanks. I absolutely hat KOAs. They are expensive, crowded, predominantly with RVs, and the are loud. There is nothing appealing about them except convenience, and considering this is a holiday weekend and by the time we thought to make reservations—we are not a planning ahead and make reservations type of family—all the real campgrounds were full. Therefore, we booked what we could find in order to have somewhere to stay. But ugh, it’s awful. There is no fire ring. If you want one you have to rent it. And I refuse to give them more money, especially since we are stuck next to a tent with crying kids. The whole time we were setting up the tents, not only did it start to rain, the kids next to us were hysterical. I may need to sleep in the car tonight.

To escape the crying kids, the rain, and cold fire-less campsite, we decided to go to a local brewery to sample some more craft beer. As we were leaving the campground, we saw a double rainbow. The colors were vibrant and beautiful. We went to Lat 65 Brewing Company but we were not terribly enthralled with the beer. It all tasted like something you could get in a can at any grocery store. But at least it was something to do.

Fairbanks may be a city, but for a girl who grew up in New York City, it certainly doesn’t feel like one. Based on the lack of traffic, the absence of skyscrapers, and all the trees, it definitely feels more like a suburb.  By the time we left the brewery, it was no longer raining. It had been no more than a light passing shower.

Back at the campground, G3 and I played a few rounds horseshoes before moving on to tetherball. We did not keep score for horseshoes but he slaughtered me in tetherball. I am the words worst tetherball player.