Mileophile: Alaska 2020- Day 7

So, one thing we’ve learned is if you don’t like the weather in Alaska, wait 10 minutes. This strategy works for most instances except that it rained HARD all night. It would have been a blissful way to sleep in…..but.... sunlight. I was so grateful for our little road abode and not a leaky tent.

Oh Captain, My Captain!
Today, we’d planned an 8-hour ride on a Blue Bird Bus (made in Fort Valley, Georgia! Whoot!). Denali National Park had only one road and private cars are only allowed beyond the 15 mile marker. If you want to go farther, you have to hop on a bus. The longest ride is 13 hours! Now, the only bus running this summer is to Eielson Visitor Center (8.5 hours round trip). 8 months ago, I wasn’t able to get a bus ticket because they were all sold out. There wasn’t an open RV spot in my preferred campground, now, Denali is empty. Mostly, because RVers from the bottom 48 can’t get here because Canada’s borders are closed and Cruise ships aren’t a thing (Pre-Covid, they would shuttle passengers inland on excursions) We’ve talked to several Alaskans who are actually getting to see their beautiful state without having to crawl over a million tourists. I love that journey for them. I’d love to hear more about their lives and names and where they’re from, but social distancing makes it really hard for a social butterfly like me to meet new friends. I didn’t realize before this summer what an important part of our trips consisted of meeting random strangers from all over the globe. When before, you could strike up an interesting conversation with a Nanny from Sweden, or a housewife from Boise, or a college kid from Ohio. Now, there is just silence. From a distance. Save us Bette Midler!! While an 8-hour bus ride might sound like hell on wheels to some people (my skeptical self included), it was the most wondrous event. We were among 24 people, masked and socially distanced, on a bus that would normally seat 80. I was even able to socially distance from my own people who I’ve been doing the opposite of social distancing with for 4+ months. Huzzah! We all had our own window seat to gaze out over the ever-changing Alaskan landscape. Someone would holler, “BEAR!” and our driver, Mike, would slam on the brakes, throw it in reverse and we’d all grab our binoculars! To have the time to sit and watch a big grizzly munching his face off in a berry patch for half an hour was such a gift. To look upon my children’s faces staring out over the landscape and not at a screen was such a gift. I wondered what they wondered, but I didn’t ask, as some thoughts are none of my beeswax. We washed, rinsed, repeated for “CARABOO!”, “MORE BEARS!”, and “MOOSE!”

BEAR!!!

CARIBOU!!!!

MOOSE!!!

When we’d munched our sandwiches, and pulled from the necks of our water bottles, we finally reached the halfway point, Eielson Visitor Center. Mike gave us about an hour to mill about and since the actual visitor center is closed, our option was to hike or maybe hike. And, here’s something about Mr. Bullington. If there are three options for hikes, he’s gonna insist on the most challenging one. No matter how loud the protests sound from the mouths of babes. In true Mr. Bullington fashion, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a 1,000 foot climb in one mile, with a one mile breathless downhill chaser. The views were glorious, the complaints, resounding! But, we did it! Bullingtons can do hard things! The bus ride home featured other wildlife sightings and also naps. 8 hours in a school bus on a one-lane dirt road can take it out of a girl! And naps are rad!