Where we camped, we met the Texas 4000 on the final leg of their bike ride from Austin, TX, to Anchorage, to raise awareness and funds for cancer. They loved Autumn and Linden. They also whooped it up, literally shouting songs and chants, until I crawled out of my tent, put on pants, and staggered over.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey guys!"
"HEY GUYS!!!"
"Um, remember me? With the huskies! Look, I think that what you're doing is awesome and I'm super proud of you for being near the end of your journey, but the camp quiet hours start at 11 and it's now 11:30 and I start work at 7 in the village, so it'd be great if you could--"
Ooooh gosh! So sorry! So sorry!... Omygosh! Sosorry!
66 youthful heads bobbed up and down.
"Okay, great! Have a great rest of your trip!"
And that was that.
The village boiler operator/plumber/electrician/all-around handyman is also a talented artist, who had drawn this picture that I now have on my wall. He showed me his latest work:
Paxson Lake, one of two large ones along the highway. Each has its own microcommunity of middle-class-looking vacation homes that are better-maintained than most primary homes in Alaska. These homes are not extravagant, but they do place their owners clearly with the Haves.
The second of these lakes is Summit Lake, and from it, you have a gorgeous view of Gulkana Glacier:
We walked toward it for lunch on the way home, passing along the way a clear, sweet, spring-fed creek:
As well as the one the glacier feeds. The contrast is remarkable, isn't it?
I had to video this one as well. Sorry again that I put my stoopid hand over the mic. What I was saying is, "This thing is crazy! This little glacially-fed "creek" could kill a person! Holy crap! Wow!" Etc, etc.
For contrast, I had to video the creek. Here, my commentary is, "Oooh lookie! It's so pretty and clear and safe and harmless!"
I collected a bottle of glacial silt. I'm going to set it on my desk and see how long it takes to settle:
There are certainly worse places to have a weekday lunch!
A footbridge leads over the creek to those wishing to approach the glacier. It's not dog-friendly, and I'm not really a glacier kinda gal (I've heard too many warnings of people falling into crevasses) so we headed back:
Channels in the creek:
When I'm in the shadow of Mt. Hayes, I'm almost home!
1 comment:
Was the sea horse glued together with different pieces of logs/wood? Creative mind.
Ra and I visited the neighborhood firehouse, one of the firemen plowed a vegi garden outside, another built a beautiful table out of an old bowling alley runway. Impressive people.
Post a Comment