Change of plans - no RV

Well, today Randy and I decided we'd change our plans and not rent an RV. Gas prices are going up and the more I thought about it the more I wondered if we'd spend as much with an RV as we would renting a car and staying in hotels. And then there's all the stuff that goes with an RV, like cleaning it out and driving it around. I kept seeing things at the RV park websites about shuttles to here and buses to there and I started thinking how we'd be parking the RV and then have to take buses and shuttles everywhere instead of being more independent. So, we cancelled the RV and I made new reservations.

So far, I've reserved a rental car and a bed & breakfast in Anchorage and a cabin in Denali. The cabin sounds kind of cool. It's right by a river, 13 miles from the park entrance. At first I was thinking I should get a place right by the entrance, but as I looked at the different places and checked things out, including on Yelp.com, I decided we should be all right even though we're not right at the entrance, especially now that we'll have our own car. There's a cafe and espresso bar right there, you can get a lunch packed for you and everything. I asked about fishing and the woman there said that you can't get anything in the river right at the cabin because it's glacier-fed and only has some small fish, but about 15 minutes down a gravel road is good fishing and she said it's a beautiful drive.
When I gave my name to the woman taking my reservation for the cabin she told me all about how "Mavis" was her favorite name. She said when she was a little girl she saw some movie with a person named Mavis and it was her favorite from then on -- her Barbies were named Mavis. Pretty funny. It is a good name; it has served me well.

We still have our flight over McKinley reservation and the tour bus in the park, too. Next, I need to start working on the rest of the trip.

Spell of the Yukon...and remembering Dan

I just purchased the .mp3 album of "The Spell of the Yukon" by Stuart Hamblen. We had this album; I imagine my parents bought it while we lived in Alaska. The cover shown on the Amazon page looks familiar. I thought I'd listen to it on my ipod and get myself even more in the mood.

When I hear the piece called "Mush!" it makes me think of my brother Dan (who died of ALS in November, 2006). I can just see him taking his deep voice posture, tucking his chin down, and exclaiming, "Mush! Mush! Mush on you malemutes. HALF dog, HALF wolf, riding through the night." I also remember him singing, "North to Alaska" when he was first learning to drive. He didn't know any more words than those 3, so he repeated them, "North to Alaska....North to Alaska." Hence the name of this blog.

My sister sent me the link to "The Cremation of Sam McGee," one of the poem-songs on the album, read by Johnny Cash in this youtube video. Youtube also has a version of "The Spell of the Yukon," another poem on the album. Most of the pieces on this album are by Robert Service.

When I listen to "The Cremation of Sam McGee" I see my dad in my mind's eye. This kind of poem/song with a touch of humor always make him laugh. Like "Hot Rod Lincoln" and "Big, Bad John."

What are we thinking?

Randy and I have been talking about visiting Alaska for years. And it's something I've wanted to do since I lived there as a kid. When I was in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade my dad was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. Even as a kid it seems like I understood a little bit of the awesomeness of Alaska, although I also remember just taking it in stride. Before we moved away, our parents took us to Denali National Park (then called Mt. McKinley National Park) and I remember seeing the mountains and animals. I feel like ever since then I've known I wanted to go back some day.

Here are a few photos from my days in Alaska. I only have a few; I think that was my first camera, probably a "Brownie" camera, or maybe an "Instamatic."

Our front door. I believe there were 8 households in each of these base housing buildings. This high density living was great for us kids, lots of other kids to play with. We also got huge hauls at Halloween!

Several buildings were grouped together around what we called "circles," a circular area with playground equipment. In the winter they'd pour water into one of the circles and it would turn into an ice rink.

My little sister Jan and brother Joel.

My cabin at King's Lake Camp, where my older brother and I got to go a couple times.

My sister Jan on the sledding hill. Imagine having that in your backyard!

My dad in his "dress suit."

In my photo album I labeled this "the Nash's side yard." The Nash family lived on one end of our building.

My sister, dad and brother Dan by our Volkswagon camper, which we rode in for many a long trip.

Talking to Alaska

I just talked to two people in Alaska. First, I called Denali National Park and made our reservations -- for Riley Creek Campground, the entrance to the park and a 13 hour shuttle ride into the park. Woo hoo! I'm excited!

I also spoke to a person at K2 Aviation, in Talkeetna, and reserved the McKinley Experience flight.

Several weeks ago I booked our flights and our RV, but now that I'm getting into more details, it's starting to feel real.