Year 6 take 2 - Day 1

Ahhhh Alaska! I feel like we have been waiting for this one since we started these trips. Drifting slowly through the clouds well after midnight the sun was peaking at us over the eastern horizon. Not sure if it was still up or just coming up again, but it gave us enough light to see the outlines of mountains, rivers, trees and green nothingness. Grey-white clouds drifted past the wings and a fine mist was falling. My heart feels at home. My soul happy.

Warm, full, plain people everywhere. Smiles. Warm hugs. Friendliness. What a wonderful start to a wonderful state. Deciding on an SUV we loaded up and headed for a short hotel stay. Anxious to start exploring we all slept little. The great beyond calls.

Rising like an iron snake, the oil pipeline greeted us just outside of Fox, Alaska. This town is not far from the arctic circle. The pavement ends at Fox and the road becomes "primitive" so we turn south. It seems the iron snake follows us, up and down, in and out of the ground, everywhere we go it surfaces and shows its shiny face. Our tour has begun, interior Alaska. Next stop, the North Pole. Light poles lined to look like candy canes. Street names like Santa Claus Lane, and Snowman Way. I fully expected to hear Christmas songs playing over the town. A quick visit to Santa Claus' house leaves us joyful and ready for more adventure.

Driving south with our ever present pipeline friend, we notice tiny trees that look ancient, but are barely 5 feet tall. Tiny tree land. Our little red SUV makes frequent stops at roadside pullouts for pictures and oohs and aahs. We follow the delta river system leading us toward the Alaska Range of mountains. Tall, mighty, and full of glaciers. Their height and beauty amazing us. This is the Alaska we have all been waiting for. Mountains rising up from green fields full of wildflowers and streams. A true sight to see.

Delta Junction is far east Alaska near the Canada border. The winds here are relentless. The silt from the delta whips across roads, houses, cars, everything. A few small buildings dotted here and there. More friendly people and warmth. We leave here headed for our destination for the night, Tangles River Inn at Tangles Lake near Paxson Alaska. Its not on the map really and the GPS cant find it. Moms worried. Its about 50 or so miles southwest from Delta Junction, the last place with any "life" for miles. A small two lane road meanders through a tundra like place. No trees, lots of grass and rolling hills. Between all the hills are lakes, big, small, everywhere. After a slow 20 miles we finally see a building, or "cabin" for the night. There are about 10 in total of different sizes, all run by a generator. A small restaurant and canoes for use. The light drizzle and grey skies doesn't stop us from a paddle on the lake. Beautiful. Snuggled into our quiet cabin we listen to the wind whipping outside. Its August but it feels like a December day. Soul happy, replenished.

Until Tomorrow...