The Commute to Fred Meyers

 A bull moose seen at Denali

We are settling quickly into Interior life, learning the norms of living further north.  Instead of giant Sitka Spruce, Hemlock, and Yellow Cedar, our views are filled with Birch, Aspen, Black Spruce, and White Spruce.  Our ocean has been replaced with the Tanana, a meandering braided river.  The bears still roam free here, just as they do in Southeast, but seem to be hungrier and therefore gutsier than their coastal counterparts.   In addition to scanning for bear sign when we enter the wilderness (aka step outside our front door) our eyes and ears also are on the watch for moose.  

             

One of the highlights of our move north is being transplanted to a landscape with deciduous trees that display true fall colors.   In the past week, fall has quickly overtaken summer, bringing about frost in the morning, snow on the foothills, and the greatest change of them all---an array of reds, oranges, and golden yellows that paint the countryside.   

With the transformation of the trees, comes the loud squawking of geese, cranes, and swans, all leaving their summer habitat for warmer wintering grounds.  I was stirred out of my cabin today by a flock of hundreds of Sandhill Cranes, gathering in the sky, busily partaking in their journey South.  

Hundreds of Sandhill Cranes above our cabin

A large part of me is envious of these bird’s keen insight to leave now before the cold strikes, but a small part of me is curious and captivated by the thought of experiencing -50 degree weather.  As I look at the temperature today, and realize that it will decrease by 100 degrees in the winter, I am both utterly amazed and horrified.  

           

 Although we live on the road system in Alaska, groceries are just as expensive in Delta as in Sitka.  As such, we have joined the ranks of deltoids (residents of Delta Junction) who commute to Fairbanks (known as going to “town”) to take advantage of the slightly cheaper goods at Fred Meyers. 

           

This weekend, in our journey to Fred Meyers, we decided to take the long way.  Instead of driving north on the Richardson Highway 100 miles to Fairbanks, as is typically done, we opted to go south, thus taking the scenic route.  This road trip took us to Paxson, where we veered west onto the long, but BEAUTIFUL, 130-mile gravel Denali Highway. 

A lone spruce in the rainbow taiga off the Denali Hwy

Views like this were constant along the Denali Hwy

Tundra Swan off the highway

Apparently the other visitors to the
park didn't drive the Denali Hwy to get there like us....

The fall colors were out in abundance, as were hunters on ATVs, as September 1st marked opening day of big game hunting season.   We felt oddly out of place on the Denali Highway.  There seemed to be only two types of people on the road; RVs and Hunters.  ATVs flew by us with people dressed in camo, sporting rifles, scanning the horizon for any sign of life.  Judging by the sheer number of hunters, we realized that today would not be a likely day to see any wildlife along the road, which proved to be true.  We camped right at the end of the highway, 10 miles from Cantwell. The next morning as we finished writing our grocery list in the car, we decided to make a pit stop in Denali National Park because, hey, when it’s on the way to Fred Meyers, you just have to stop.

           

Ben coming down from Mt. Healy

 In Denali, we took in the park’s vistas by doing a quick jaunt up Mt. Healy to stretch our legs.

  Upon arrival back to the valley floor, we took the bus into the park to witness the variety and stunning expanse of the park. Although Denali is always an amazing place to visit, during the fall, we are convinced it is the most beautiful place in the entire world.  The land is literally rainbow colored, glowing so brightly it looks entirely like a page from Dr. Seuss’s colorful books.  The colors and life amidst the tundra, taiga, and trees captivated our eyes the entire 8 hours we were on the shuttle bus.  We camped for the night in the park at Sanctuary Campground, which thankfully stayed true to its name and provided a somewhat decent shelter from the 60-70 mph wind gusts during the evening.   

Polychrome Pass

            

Denali, coming out of the clouds in all of its glory

           The next day, we took a morning stroll on the quiet highway before the long string of buses infiltrated the park for the day. After getting picked up by a camper bus on the road, we watched in amazement out the bus window, drinking up the vibrant colors and expansive landscape of wilderness that we were departing. We couldn’t help but think this was the most gorgeous commute to Fred Meyers ever taken.  Arriving back at the park, we begrudgedly left Denali to finish our commute to Fairbanks via the Parks Highway.

Dr. Seuss Land

Climbing up a ridge during our morning walk

    

            

As we navigated through the drab, noisy aisles of Fred Meyer, surrounded by hordes of people busily completing their Labor Day shopping, we recalled the old saying that “life is about the journey, not the destination.” It couldn’t have been truer for this trip of a lifetime to Fred Meyers.