At Alaska

I arrived Wisconsin Madison airport at about 11pm on 28/7/05 and next day will have to catch the afternoon flight to Fairbank, Alaska. As usual, upon arrival at Madison airport, I met up with my cheery bro-in-law Ben and sulky sister Josey (she was angry with me for not coming a day or 2 earlier and that leave her and Ben to handle all the camping preparation - which I think was not exactly any big deal) Anyway, as usual I have to face up with her nagging (but of course I choose to close my ear – and be selective listener).
Next day evening, we arrived Fairbank airport in the evening 8pm (but was still very bright), but one of our food baggage got ripped open (we used the China bag that I bought when in Beijing). Josey of course tries to ask for compensation, but got rejected because the officer argued that our luggage was over packed. Anyway, thank God we did not lose much stuff except for a packet of rice.
Early next day morning, we took the Alpine van to Railey Creek (foot of Mt McKinley – Denali), I was very excited about the trip and really looking forward to it every moment. But the weather was gloomy, in fact it rained the whole day and it was cold. I prayed very hard to God to bless us with good weather for the next few days.
On 1^st August, we woke up very early in the cold morning to unpack the tent to get ready to catch the 6am bus to Wonderlake (where we are intending to camp for the next 8 days). But the driver came in 1 hour late (because he need to fix the bus alarm). We had a pleasant ride to the Wonderlake and we got to see a white wolf walked pass our bus. After, we set up the tent and arranged our supplies in the food storage room (we were not to keep any food or scented material in the tent, as it might attracted the bear).
My impression of Alaska is so different from what I actually see. The country is very big and beautiful. Love the glacier, mountain, lake and river. We did quite a bit of hiking up the mount and hill. Ben is a great hiker and had enjoyed hiking with him on some of the difficult terrain. Had a number of close encounter with the bear, caribou, and moose. It was a great experience especially to see Mt Mckinley, Denali (when the weather was clear) with the alpine glow, it was such a beautiful sight to see the mountain range.
We actually camped out in Denali for 8 nights, the night did not come until about 1 or 2am and it was despite the cold chilly weather at night and morning, sleeping on hard ground in the tent, bathing in the cold lake; it was worth it all to enjoy all the beautiful sight, Denali and Wonderlake had to offer.
Met couple of wonderful and friendly people. In fact, we were fortune to have met Neil and Mary while camping at Santurary. They caught some big Salmon fish and offer to us some for dinner, it was a real treat for us, cos for the past 10days, all we had eaten are preservative food; it was real nice to eat fresh meat again.
We went down Palmer and Fairbank for couples of days after camping 8 days up in the mountain. On the way to Fairbank, had the opportunity to seat beside Magaritta from Puerto Rico (she had been a traveller) and she had retire and is traveling alone in Alaska for a month. She is a real interesting and amusing woman. Also met up with Ben's oldtime schoolmate Lawerence and his family, they live in a very lovely and comfortable house with beautiful garden. I had a great time chatting with Harriet (his mother in law) and Kurt (son). They are all very lovely and friendly people to hang around with.
Alaska is so beautiful and so many place to visit, I will surly come back again to visit this beautiful country. Despite some unpleasant encounter with my sister (as it always happen since we were young), I chose to ignore and not let any bad feelings or mood to get hold of me. Thus, I really had a truly wonderful and enjoyable time in Alaska.

my email: joydive@gmail.com