In the Wilderness

We arrived at Jeff and Beth's house on Wednesday afternoon and have spent the last two days exploring the area. Yesterday we drove down to Valdez. It was an absolutely beautiful day with clear skies and temps in the 70s, fairly unusual around here. Jeff said if there is a clear day forecasted for Valdez we should go there because it doesn't happen very often. It was very beautiful and we enjoyed a picnic lunch by the water and watching a big boat get put in the water, and some people cleaning the salmon they had caught.

Today we went to the Wrangell-St Elias National Park headquarters. We spent several hours there going on a guided hike, watching a movie about the park, and seeing the exhibits. Gives me some hope for the world that this park is a protected wilderness habitat with so much wildlife and nature being undisturbed.

Right now Denise and I are at the Kenny Lake Public Library, actually a very nice library considering it's size and that it is basically out in the middle of nowhere. They have public computers that we can use to check our email, etc. Jeff and Beth's house is about 4 miles down the road.

We have been surviving without any electricity and running water - you just have to get a little creative. Since it isn't really getting dark here we can read by natural light until about 10:30 or 11:00pm, and then we can use their lights that are set up on solar power stored in batteries. It works but it definitely is not how I would want to live every day.

Jeff saw a moose out past the outhouse this morning, but I have seen no wildlife on their property or in this area yet, except for a bald eagle in Valdez yesterday. I guess when you consider how vast the wilderness is, it is fairly unlikely that I will see anything, but you never know.

That's about it for now. We are here for the weekend and then leave Monday noon to head back to Anchorage before heading to Bellingham on Tuesday.

Deanna