New Friends Across Alaska

-Nathan the Flagger—his neighbor was from Nebraska and the racquetball opponent of his dad.  The neighbor beat his dad at one point and wrote “Go Big Red!” in his dad’s grass with the mower.

-Archie the bus driver-- The shuttle up to the Mendenhall Glacier was driven by Archie, a local Tlingit man.  “Git ‘er done” was how he starts his drive.  He pointed out the historical sites in town on the way, the Walmart that no longer is in town, the Fred Meyer, and the McDonald’s drive thru.  He was a charismatic jovial sort from the town of Hoonah.  He drives a school bus for his usual job.  He also plans to go back to Hoonah to try out the new zip line in town that is a 65 mph shot out of the forest.

-Swiss/Italian (maybe Czech?) Tour Guide—the only guy on the Denali bus who knew how to get the windows to stay up after the passenger next to the window declared defeat against a window that was constantly jostled open by the bumpy road.

-Daniel and Bryce—fishing boat captain (father) and deckhand (son) of the OPTIMIST.  Really great people, super professional.  Lauren, was terrible at taking over driving of the boat and also was unable to locate neutral.  

-The Cox family, a cool grandma, grandpa, daughter and grandson who were the other half of our fishing boat squad.  Fortunately, Connor, the 18 yr old grandson, (headed to play football and baseball at Westminster College in Pennsylvania. Go Titans!)  loved to eat so the family supplied us with unlimited snacks!

-Homer cab Driver “Sam”—lived there all his life but doesn’t know the side roads or how to make change from a $50.  Also a self-confessed fan of Lord of the Rings.

-Sewage guy—helpful late 30s good looking man traveling with his parents in a similarly rented Minnie Winnie that provided latex gloves and instructions on how to “dump our tanks” (Made Margerie very happy)

-Plaid boxers man- A fellow 30s passenger traveling with his mom on our Glacier Bay boat tour who came running out of the bathroom while in mid pants pull up/zip asking us if he “missed anything (new wildlife) or were still watching mountain goats.”  This occurred twice on this voyage.

-Elvis and Cleopatra (not actual names) from Florida, Salty Dawg bar friends who were fearful of being in our blog.  They drank Foster’s, which is probably the real reason they didn’t want to be in our blog.

-Sean, a local in Talkeetna—49ers fan whose “day was ruined” by Lauren, another Seahawks fan.

-Josh (DOC rafting guide) AKA James Smith, Henry Ford, George Washington, a comical, long haired, blond, good looking man from Arkansas.  His pre-raft snack was powdered mini donuts.

America's Greatest National Park (Happy 100th Birthday NPS!!)

After a quick night’s sleep at Nancy State Park, (Hi Mom!, Love Lauren) the road carried us north to Denali, debatably America’s greatest National Park.  The day was a bit grey, so we listened to the Have a Nice Day playlist courtesy of Spotify, which really set the mood.  

  

Margerie’s first day off occurred in Denali, where Lauren and Cindy betrayed her for a NPS shuttle (aka green schoolbus), with windows that dropped open at every bump.  This was a 66 mile, 8 hour roundtrip bus ride deep into the heart of Denali.  

Wildlife observed on the bus (other than an unruly Australian family):

• Dall Sheep—not to be confused with a Mountain Goat; tiny white dots on hills; look more like lambs through binocs
• Moose—male, solitary; lazily laying down and munching on leaves
• Caribou—one unfortunately was killed by wolves with it’s carcass left for our next sighting
• Grizzly Bear—seen sleeping on top of caribou carcass early in the day and standing eating on carcass on trip back; many other bears seen throughout the park
• Arctic Squirrel—routinely licking the salt on the road (salt used for dust reduction)  in front of us causing the bus driver to brake for squirrels every 5 min or so
• Marmot—Lauren claims to have seen on side of road
• Road Grader—not actually wildlife,  but thought the Nebraska contingency would like to know that they slow down traffic in National Park gravel roads too 
• Assorted birds including eagles, although much debate on Golden vs Bald Eagles. (We think a few people could use new binoculars for Xmas next year.)

A few pics from the day: 

Moose

Caribou

Sheep vs Goat Infographic (FYI--Alaska has the best infographics!)

Grader

Cindy's Campervan Cuisine

Kickin’ Chicken with Grilled Potatoes

*Requires 1 grill and several matches

Marinate the chicken and sliced red potatoes with chopped onion, several halved grape tomatoes, some diced baby bell peppers, a couple big spoonfulls of minced garlic, some olive oil and Weber’s Kickin Chicken spice.   Go white water rafting for three hours.  Return to your campsite, wrap the potato mixture in foil and place on the grill.  Place the chicken directly on the grill with as many tomatoes, onions, and peppers that will stay.  (This will make the grill messy, but don’t worry, it’s a rental!)  Cook for 30 minutes or so, and then enjoy with a cold  Alaskan Icy Bay IPA. 

Alaskan Roadside Fiesta  

(Chicken, Seasoned Black Beans, and Campfire Roasted Ro*tel with leftover potatoes)

*Requires 1 grill, 1 campfire, a pack of matches, firestarter, newspaper, assorted kindling (no hatchet available so rely on forest floor findings), wind guard, lots of patience; recipe works better if not raining

Marinate chicken with a mixture of Ro*tel, chopped onion, spoonful of minced garlic, and some Weber’s Chipotle spice and place in foil packets.  Place on grill with left over potato packets from the prior night’s feast.  Light campfire and place can of seasoned black beans and can of Rotel directly in flames.  Struggle to keep campfire light. Find more kindling.  Realize you need to puncture can of beans so it doesn’t explode.  Puncture Ro*tel can as a precaution.  Fight the campfire some more.  When beans and tomatoes are both bubbling, they are done.  Remove Chicken from foil and place directly on grill for another 10 min to get outside a bit crispy.  (Spoon Ro*tel from chicken packet directly on chicken; disregard mess on grill because it is still a rental)

Serve with Alaskan Freeride American Pale Ale.

Volcano Surprise 

(Chicken, Mushrooms, and Brussel sprouts)

*Requires 1 grill, a few matches, a wind guard, and some binoculars

Take a break from your daily drive to marinate your evening meal.  For Chicken, see recipe above for Kickin Chicken.  Marinate baby bell mushrooms in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, some chopped onion, and a big spoonful of minced garlic.  Throw in some red pepper flakes to spice things up a bit.  Take a bag of halved Brussel sprouts, add in some onions, olive oil, and spice packet of balsamic and roasted onion (has rosemary, thyme, onion, and garlic powder. 

Get back on the road for another 4 hours. Pull over at a delightful camping spot with a view of volcanos across the bay in front of you and a field of eagles behind you.  Place veggies in foil packets and chicken directly on grill.  Stoll the beach and look for treasures or use the binocs to eagle watch while cooking.  After 30 min when all veggies are done, enjoy with a nice Malbec.  Put grill away as soon as possible to avoid Ravens pillaging your campsite due to the amazing veggies that are have been baked from prior night’s feasts.