Yearly Archives: 2014

On our way south from Healy to Bird Creek, we stopped for a hike at Denali State Park. The heavy rainstorm we had at Denali National Park the day before was just starting to clear out. The weather wasn’t quite as freezing cold, so I bundled up again in a few less layers. I’m not…

I was able to find information on so many Alaskan wildflowers online, but I couldn’t seem to identify this glamorous pink and purple wildflower anywhere. It was growing along the river in Denali National Park. About six inches tall at four inches across. I think it’s a variety of Indian Paintbrush. Do you have any…

A rainy day in Denali National Park doesn’t put a damper on all the lovely Alaskan wildflowers. We had a great time hunting for new varieties on our hikes. This is Dwarf Fireweed, a traditional medicinal plant for treating wounds: Simple pink flower, complicated name. Eskimo Potato Bear Root (seems to be poisonous): I think…

Unfortunately, we had cold and rainy weather the day we visited Denali National Park. It’s the Alaskan interior…it happens. We needed a new plan for our day at the park. First stop, the visitor center where Rob, Amy, Seth and I loaded up on maps, advice from rangers and dioramas. Spotted a sleepy porcupine hiding…

After adorable Talkeetna, we drove up north to spend a day at Denali National Park. Just when we arrived in the evening, the weather turned from clear with a few clouds to ominous gray skies. A big storm was coming! We parked at McKinley RV Park in Healy, the “interior” town between Denali and Fairbanks where the local…

{Note: Alaska has a bounty of many things: trees, moose, smoked meats…but fast and reliable internet is not one of those things. The furthest outposts of Croatia had way better connectivity than the Yukon. Updates may be spotty for the next two weeks} Talkeetna is an adorable mix of mountaineers, hippies and cruise ship passengers…

My relationship with wildlife is 2% enchantment, 98% terror. The prospect of running across a moose, beaver or whale while in Alaska is not personally thrilling, not to even consider bears. We went for our first hike today along Montana Creek outside Willow, armed with bear mace and my low-grade panic. It helps to focus on…

Rob and I flew in to Anchorage on Saturday morning after taking a pre-dawn taxi to San Francisco airport. Seth and Amy landed a few hours later and we were all picked up in an ancient blue van by the RV company. While the others spent that unavoidably long paperwork-signing hour with the RV man,…

Our adventure in Alaska starts tomorrow. We’re meeting our friends in Anchorage to kick off the RV trip. The weather in Alaska in June looks similar to San Francisco, just a little bit colder, a lot rainier and with way more mosquitos. Sweater – A cardigan layer in a light colors. Jacket – A warm…

It’s official: our Hawaiian-themed picnic for South Pacific has been awarded the grand prize! After shamefully taking only second place with our picnic for Music Man in 2012, we regrouped and kept our eye on the prize. Now, let’s see if the streak can continue with next year’s Peter Pan performance. So far, I’ve decided we’ll…