30 miles from Heaven

Our wonderful, fellow Interior friends, Nellie and Pete (and Otter with Lucey in tow), traveled south from Fairbanks to visit us for the weekend.  For the past 6 months we have traveled to Fairbanks so many times, with Nellie and Pete graciously offering their house and company. They consistently feed, board, and entertain us on par with the greatest of hosts.  But we had yet to be able to return the favor.  Fairbanks offers many more activities and often has much kinder weather (aka no wind) than Delta, so it is rather uncommon for Fairbanksians to travel south and much more common for Deltoids to travel north.  But Nellie and Pete, being the amazing friends they are, went against the grain and spent their weekend in Delta Junction! 

As is normal, Delta welcomed the Fairbanksians, accustomed to calm, still winter air, with 30 mph winds.  It seemed to kill our hopes of getting outside.  But we remained optimistic.  Our plan was to head south from Delta to the Alaska Range on Saturday. We decided to risk the threatening weather (as well as the roads) and started upon one of the most beautiful winter drives I have ever done. When we got about 15 miles outside of Delta, we found that, miraculously, there wasn’t even a breeze.  We passed caribou grazing and napping off the highway. Out the window was snow-capped mountain after mountain.  The sun brilliantly reflected against their white, glowing slopes.   Around one corner, a moose meandering on the deserted highway promptly bolted off the road—the best kind of moose- one that knows to be wary of cars.

Caribou at sunset

Nellie and me on the winter highway

We arrived at our starting point, Castner Creek.  The creek bed winds up the valley towards Castner Glacier.  Because there was no wind present to warm the air, we were expecting to get out of the car in sunny, but subzero temperatures.  As I hesitantly opened the door, I noted that my first breath didn’t hurt as I inhaled and that my face didn’t immediately tighten to the cold.  This could only mean one glorious thing—it must be ABOVE zero!

We happily sauntered up the ‘winter highway’ of the backcountry – the frozen creek bed.   We soaked up the sunshine, majestic mountain views, and powdery snow.  It was warm enough to be outside for hours—something we haven’t done for months in Delta. We quickly realized the most wonderful fact unbeknownst to us until now--Delta Junction is situated nearly 30 miles from heaven!   Who would’ve guessed??

We hiked up the creek bed until we reached jagged pieces of ice sprouting out of the valley floor.  We admired the thousands of years old accumulation of snow and ice and continued on our way reaching the terminal moraine of the glacier.  Glaciers are more conspicuous in the winter since, similar to the surrounding landscape, they too are covered in a blanket of fluffy snow.  But reaching a cliff face of ice was a sure sign that we had made it.

Hiking on the beginning of the snow covered glacier

In front of the glacier wall

Pete, Ben, and Otter approaching Castner Glacier

Pete next to iceburgs

Das ist mein Mann (we're currently learning German)

Nellie, Otter, and Pete enjoying lunch

Ben and Nellie

We ate lunch, enjoyed the remainder of the sunshine and headed back towards the car.  By the time we arrived in Delta, we found that everything was as we left it, with the wind still whipping through town.  People were scurrying from car to indoor protection as quickly as possible.  I had to smile…who would’ve thought that heaven could be just around the corner???  I think our days of traveling north to Fairbanks every chance we get may be ending.  We now know the secret.  Next weekend, you can find us hightailing it 30 miles south to the pearly gates of the mountains.