Denali - Boots on the Ground

I am wrapping up my fourth day in Alaska and second in Denali National Park & Preserve. It is beautiful up here with snow-covered mountains, one to feet of snow and drifts of several feet. The mountains are rough and, unlike the Appalachians I am used to, are characterized by rock cliffs rising several hundred feet. The tree level is at the base of the slopes or below. The forest is made of a mixture of Black and White Spruce interspersed with what I believe are Aspen. I will have to wait until the snow melts to see what, if any, undergrowth exists. Further into the park, trees give way to the tundra. You can see for miles across the valley between the two mountain ranges.

I have been in orientation the last two days, including extensive informative sessions today with NPS staff. Yesterday afternoon, one of the interp coaches gave us a tour of the sites from which we will be doing presentations. One of them is the Savage Cabin built in 1924 as a cook cabin for the first tourist cabin in Mt. McKinley National Park now known as Denali. It is a gorgeous setting with spruce trees dotting the landscape. We were told the area was a favorite hangout, at different times, of a grizzly bear, a caribou, and a lynx. On the wooden shutters are nails pointing outward to deter curious bears.

It was during this tour I inquired about the distance across the tundra to the base of the distant mountains. He said it was roughly 8-10 miles from the road we were on. We also saw an arctic squirrel, which we were told would put on a show to enhance its "cuteness". He also said if you were able to get really close and take a picture, shake the camera slightly to get a blurred image of the squirrel ------- then tell people you had a close encounter with a grizzly.

Tomorrow morning, training begins for official interpreter certification. I am looking forward to getting down to the nuts and bolts of my job here ( can I call it a job ? ). Plus, I can take this certification anywhere and will look great on my resume along with the job experience. We will be training for a few days and then we will "shadow" one of the coaches and take the Denali History Tour so we see how it all works.

My excitement for what I am and will be experiencing this summer is counter-balanced by the distance from home. Except for a couple of trips she took to Texas to see her brothers and a few CW events for a weekend, my wife and I have been together daily since fall 2005. Our daughter has been with me every day over the past year - through the summer and picking her up from the bus stop everyday. I miss them terribly and love them very much !

Much love from Denali !