Female moose and her calf, Horseshoe Lake, Denali National Park
And, just like that, a moose appeared.
Let me correct that, a big fem ale moose and her calf appeared.
They stood across the pristine waters Horseshoe Lake in Denali National Park and calmly stared at my wife and I as Wendy grabbed her camera to record the moment.
The mama moose could have cared less. We were visitors to her home in Alaska and she knew it. In fact, she probably wondered what all the fuss was as other hikers who braved the 4-mile up-and–down-the-rocks hike gathered to record their own memories of this rather plain event. The moose stood in knee-deep water, crunching her moose-crunch and doing her moose thing while the humans danced all around, looking for the best location to view this everyday event.
This is the essence of our Alaska trip in July of 2021. The incredible mountains … the glacier-inspired streams … the awe-inspiring ocean views … the lush greenery of the short summer have been here for thousands or millions of years. So have the moose … the bears … the whales …the puffins … and the hundreds of other living creatures that call this wonderful place their home. Nothing special, just home.
Please, if you like nightlife, crowded subways, hustle and bustle, and loud noises, stay away from Alaska. The 50th state may be the final sanctuary in the USA not blemished by people who throw trash out the window, make fun of animals in zoos, or write their insipid names on trees. For the most part, Alaska is in habited by people who respect nature, respect time and respect others.
I know I was blessed to visit Alaska, even though I would not want to live there. I visited Iceland in 2019. The two are very similar. Jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, wide-open and a certain feeling among the visitors that they are, indeed seeing something special. These are places where you just might start believing in God again.
Our trip was an 8-day drive through the more popular spots, if you can call landing on a living glacier half scared out of your wits a popular spot. Or if you can take a picture of the Alaska Oil pipeline a popular spot. Or maybe sitting in a place named The Fat Mermaid in Valdez on a 45-degree day on July 8 next to a seaport having an unhurried lunch a popular spot. I do.
Maybe you will get lucky as we did on the whale watching tour. We were within 50 yards as at least four whales breached. They had gone deep below the surface and in a coordinated race to the top (a technique called “bubbling”) forced their prey (smaller fish) to the surface where the whales and the attending seagulls get their fill. It is a powerful, made for a video performance. Four whales, breaching at one time. These whales are smart dudes. To us, it was amazing. To them it was dinner.
Maybe you will get the same rafting guide who took us safely on a 20-mile, 4-hour raft ride through low and mid- level rapids. Laughing and joking all the time, our 19-year old guide did the heavy-lifting as the true beauty of the canyons unveiled itself.
Maybe you will slow down on the empty Richardson Highway as you head south from Fairbanks toward Valdez to just stop. And listen. And watch. Nothing happens. And yet, everything happens.
Yes, there are museums, zoos, parks, libraries and even a university or two, but they all are just a sideshow to what is real. The seafood, of course, is delicious, even for someone who does not usually do seafood. The hotels are not first class, except near Denali, but who cares.
They have a saying in Alaska that the mountains “reveal themselves” as the cloud cover lifts. It is the best way of saying it. One minute you see the top of Mount Denali. The next the cloud cover is so dense you don’t think the mountain is there. We got lucky, on a cloudy day, the mountain revealed itself just long enough to let us land on, and run around on, a glacier. That’s right, a friggin’ glacier. No landing strip on a glacier, just an experienced pilot who knows he is among the luckiest people in the world to have that job.
My single recommendation is this: Resist the temptation to take a cruise up there. Cruises are for people who just want to speed from one place to another. Cruises do not allow you to talk, as we did, to a young man who had just scaled Mount Denali and was now celebrating by eating two full breakfasts as he told his story. Cruises do not allow you to talk to 70-year old fishermen, who know the Alaska Sea like the back of their hands. Cruises do not allow you to see the real Alaska, nor the real Alaskans.
So rent yourself a car, set up your destination hotel rooms (or camps) either on your own or by using a service, and drive. When your partner tells you to stop, STOP. There is no hurry, no schedule, unless you make your own.
Instead, go find a moose and her calf on Horseshoe Lake. In those few seconds, maybe you will understand Alaska.
And maybe, you will understand life a little better, too.