Wiseman & Dalton Highway

Wiseman is located along the Middle Fork Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range with a population of maybe 20 people. It is a small mining community with an eclectic set of personalities, oh and they have plenty of mosquitoes to spare.  

...

Balancing Act

When we have balance we have a greater chance of having peace in our lives.

...

Galbraith Lake

Dirty-bottoms brother Hiya! Hee hee hee!

Rock Jasmine 

Jacobs Ladder and Atigun Pass in the background.

...

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle in the summer always seems to have skies filled with mosquitoes, and taking photos near the sign you must be quick or you risk being drained of a few pints of blood.  

There are always treasures to be found when you look down. Moss Campion grow low on the ground and can cover an area a foot in diameter. Some say they smell like lilacs.

...

Look Boys the Pipeline

It just would not be an Alaska road trip without a 'hey look boys the pipeline' comment or two along the way. 

...

Road North ~ Dalton Highway

Finger Mountain a stop along the Dalton Highway, it is rumored to point to Fairbanks and was used by early aviators flying home to Fairbanks from the villages on what is now called the North Slope.

Yes the mosquitoes were this bad and even worse at the Arctic Circle - woof.

Beaver Slide! Double woof! Yes it was a bit scary for me the passenger but I knew my wheel-man is a skilled operator, and we made it to the bottom safe and sound. 

The Dalton Highway is known by several names, the Haul Road, the Ice Road or just the Road, and is a road worth exploring. Best advice I can offer is have extra petrol, two spare tires, and bug nets for you head. Trust me on the bug nets.

...

Camp Life

Look who wandered into camp one sunny morning.

Look who we found making a home under the bridge between the rocks.

Wild Sweet Pea

...

Gulkana Glacier Area ~ Swing Bridge Across College Creek

Exploring near the Gulkana Glacier area. In the above photo we are next to the Gulkana River

The suspension bridge crosses over College Creek that flows southwest to the Gulkana River. It was a bit nerve wracking and scary at first but once I got the hang of the bridges motion and trust of the wood and cables it became easier.  

We camped in the area for two nights and hiked back to the bridge twice for the adventure of crossing over to the other side again. It appeared that most of the spring melt had already flowed downriver so the creek seemed less ominous.  

...

Summit Lake ~ Richardson Highway

Beaver swimming towards a gull perched on the leftover winter ice.

It was an amazing sight to see Summit Lake on a calm windless day, not something you witness very often.

...

Hike Along the Denali Highway

There are several trails along the Denali Highway to explore, we took a hike on the Southern Landmark Gap Trail on another gorgeous summer day. Our bear bells were a jingling and our conversation was continuous in order to ensure the large creatures could hear us coming and move away from the pesky, noisy humans. 

...

Maclaren Summit

Waterfowl Lakes - just west of Maclaren Summit

It was another beautiful day on the Denali Highway and Maclaren Summit sure delivered a fantastic view! Clear and a million!

...

Clearwater Creek

Camping by Clearwater Creek on Lucy's Aunt Mable's land. It is part of their Ahtna Native family hunting and foraging land along the Denali Highway. Thank you Aunt Mable for the great place to camp for the night. We collected all the trash we could find that was left behind by other un-thoughtful campers, and left the area better than we found it.

Our supper table view was another fabulous dinning experience, not many restaurants can top these views. 

Hello little Yellow Warbler! Thank you for holding still, if only for a moment, for me to take your photo.

Try as I might these Swallows were too quick for me to get their photo but they sure were great to see flitting about. Plus they kept the area fairly mosquitoes free.

Clearwater Creek - our second favorite camping spot along the Denali Highway.

...

Along the Denali Highway

The mighty Susitna River.

On day three we broke camp where we had been staying near the Brushkana campground and headed east towards Clearwater Creek. It was a lovely day for a drive, we only passed a handful of vehicles headed in the other direction. 

Mile 67 to mile 60 were incredibly rough road, filled with potholes and washboard, I think we only averaged 20 miles or less an hour. The mile markers on the Denali Highway are set up east to west, and since we drove west to east we travel backwards through the mile markers. 

This being a gravel road the slower we drove the less dust so the rough road didn't bother us much, plus we were on holiday and had no particular plans which are the best kind of road trips. 

...

Peace & Quiet

Camping in Alaska can mean that there is not another person within several miles of you, and there is plenty of time to explore the area to see what plants or trees might be blooming. It also means enjoyable meals, a game of canasta, and an evening spent around a fire.  

Pure joy!

...