Day 33: Seward to Cantwell (Denali National Park)

The Mountains Turned Red, The Leaves Turned Yellow, and The Rain Turned Lighter

The Leaves Have Started to Turn in Denali State and National Parks

We began our day with a major rainstorm in Seward that promised a yucky day of driving.

M decided that she had taken all the bumpy, dusty, muddy, gravely road abuse she was going to take without fighting back, and she greeted us with a low-coolant warning when we turned her on this morning.  I think it was just a cry for attention (and perhaps a car wash) because a few miles later she dismissed the warning and gave the all clear.

However, since there is only one BMW dealership in the entire state of Alaska, in Anchorage, which we just happened to have to pass through on our way to Cantwell, we decided to stop there and have the coolant topped off.  Bob was obsessing about not having an appointment, but I assured him that all we needed to do was show up, and M would be topped off with no problem and no charge.

Luckily, I was correct (Thank you BMW for the 4 years of free maintenance!), and in about 15 minutes she was topped off and happy again.  And, we were just a few minutes late for our lunch with Kathy and Tom (who regular Blog readers will know as ZippyPinHead).

Lunch was fantastic-- thanks to Kathy's killer homemade salmon chowder. (We've been looking for this chowder in restaurants all trip, and finally found the real thing in a homemade pot (of course!))

We had a great time hearing about all their travels, and we picked their brains for places to visit (and places to avoid) in Denali, Fairbanks, and the other stops on our trip.  They are even better traveled than we are, so we now have something to aspire to.

Time just flew, and before we knew it, it was getting on late afternoon and we needed to get back on the road to Cantwell, which is about 40 miles south of the main visitor's center in Denali National Park.

This video pulls snapshots from the drive.  Notice that we are going in and out of rain of various degrees of severity (and also notice the part where a guy pulls over so that M can get by).



If you watch the video closely, you'll also see that the mountains are beginning to take on a red hue, which is a change from the mountains we have encountered up until this point.

Red Mountains around Denali

You'll also notice that autumn has begun to set in around Denali.  The trees are beginning to turn yellow (with a few orange thrown in), and though we hadn't planned on it, we're now hoping for some nice leaf-peeping around Denali and on our drive up to Fairbanks this weekend.

Apparently in Denali Autumn Begins in August

Another highlight of the drive was a giant Bald Eagle feasting on roadkill.  As we approached it took to the air, and really was a sight to see.  Honest.  (We did not manage to capture it on video as GoPro had inopportunely gone to sleep again.)

We pulled into our room in Cantwell in the early evening, and the rain lightened considerably. Hopefully that holds for the next couple of days. 

Here is M parked out front:

M in Front of Our Room in Cantwell

It truly is in the middle of nowhere with nothing at all around it except one incredibly overpriced gas station/convenience store.  Though, it does have this really cool sign:

Lisa & Backwoods Lodge Moose Sign (Yes-- it is cold!)

This room is just the basics and does not have any cooking facilities except a microwave, and even if it did there are no stores within 50 miles at which to purchase anything to cook.  However, my Goldfarb instincts kicked in, and we found a fantastic gourmet restaurant about 20 minutes away called 229 Parks (and located at mile marker 229.7 on the highway)-- also in the middle of nowhere.  It was clearly a locals place, and it was packed on this Tuesday night, so we had to sit at the bar.  We had parsnip chips with homemade ranch for an appetizer, then Bob had halibut and I had black cod-- hands down the best restaurant fish meals we have had all trip.  

Tomorrow we're heading over to the park itself, and plan to do some light hiking on trails Tom & Kathy recommended.  We'll probably also check-out tourist town around the park, but will attempt to refrain from getting sucked-in to another major trap.

Until then...

Lisa