Fantasy Caravan Day 33 - Denali to Anchorage

On Wednesday, we drove from Denali to Anchorage. We left early (earlier than our wagon masters) -- we were ready to leave our unlevel site!

On the way, we saw a sign indicating that we were leaving Denali Borough. According to The Milepost, "Alaska is unique among the 50 states in that much of the state (but not all of it) is organized into local forms of government called boroughs, similar to counties in other states. There are 16 boroughs in Alaska."

We thought that the way that the clouds were hovering along the sides of the mountains was interesting.

Along the way, we came to Igloo City. From The Milepost: "This local landmark first advertised in the 1973 edition of The MILEPOST as Tesoro Igloo Service, 'scheduled for completion in 1973,' promising a hotel, restaurant, gift shop, fuel, tires and towing. The hotel never happened. In the 1976 edition, it advertised as Igloo Service, offering gas and diesel. Under new ownership in 1999, it appeared as Igloo City Resort, offering 24-hour gas and diesel, snacks and gifts. It closed in 2005." The igloo is still there; Carl thinks we could get a deal on it if we wanted to purchase it!

It was rainy, but we got to see a rainbow...

... at one point, the end was right ahead of us on the road!

We could see the other end out the side window.

The route took us through Denali State Park too -- The Milepost indicated that there were good campgrounds and views of Denali from here... but not in the rain and clouds.

We stopped at the Alaska Veterans Memorial/POW-MIA Rest Area. Not only is there a memorial here, but also information boards on several things that we were not previously aware of...

Denali is continuing to get taller each year (Carl wants to know how they know that, does someone get out with a measuring tape and say, "Yep, another 3/4!" or "Wow, this year, it was 7/8!"?)

Information about the rescue of survivors from a C-47 crash.

Did you know about the WWII battle on the Aleutian Island of Attu? I just read about it this year as we were traveling the ALCAN.

What are the differences between the brown and black bears?

Did you know that the US gave nearly 8,000 military aircraft to Russia in WWII?

Information about the Eskimo territorial militia established during WWII. (Note that the term "Eskimo" is no longer a preferred term -- using the names of the various native people's is more desirable.)

The benefits derived from the recovery of a Japanese Zero during WWII.

Information about the breeding and hatching and raising of young trumpeter swans -- the lake will start freezing in just 5 weeks from now!

During the Civil War, the Confederate Navy had one ship.

After reading the information panels, we walked over to the memorial section...

Memorial for the 1954 C-47 crash

Statue at the memorial depicting the native people's territorial guard

It had been raining, so the plaques were all partially wet...

Carl taking pictures at the memorial to give you an idea of scale

 

We continued south and west, stopping in Wasilla for fuel (for Gracie and for ourselves!),

... eventually arriving in Anchorage by early afternoon.

We met up with Patti's former co-worker Mike and his wife Tammy for dinner -- it was so nice to see them, but we unfortunately totally forgot to get pictures!!! So great to get to visit with folks as we journey!