Posted May 16, 2023 – Narrated by Carmen
“Listen to the mustn’ts child.
Listen to the don’ts.
Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me …
Anything can happen child. Anything can be.”
We are all born with a mountain in our heart.
Call it passion, ambition or soul – this mountain compels us to rise.
Even before taking first steps, your tiny arms stretch toward something in the far distance.
This mountain of longing is not in your imagination. It’s bigger than that.
You can’t always see it but you know it’s there.
You see the signs.
The mountain is a comfort.
It’s your pivot point, your base camp.
Leaving Talkeenta
We hoped to see Denali from several pullouts along the way but clouds and fog obscured the view.
According to our research, chances were slim to nil of actually seeing Denali, which had been shrouded in cloudy seclusion for weeks.
Whenever we had a whisper of a cell signal, we’d check our sources for day-to-day projections – calculate chances of an appearance – and then try to forget about it.
Denali National Park and Preserve
Fortunately, this captivating Park was more than a mountain. We had plenty of area to explore right from our serene and minimally developed campsite.
We were about a quarter of a mile from the railway bridge …
beside Riley Creek …
and only a mile from town on the scenic bike lane.
We chose Riley Creek because it’s the only campground within the National Park with cell service, and staying in the park gives us the freedom to enter and exit as we please.
Denali National Park and Preserve covers more than six million acres and is larger than the state of New Jersey.
To prevent destructive overcrowding traffic is managed by limiting access to Park Road, a 91-mile scenic route cutting through the vast wilderness. Most park visitors are day-trippers who ride the scenic route on one of the busses in the enormous fleet. The bus trip was not an option for us. Busses make us nauseated, and the trip was too long to leave Pico alone. And, due to the Pretty Rocks landslide, the last half of Park Road was closed anyway.
We would have to make do from our enchanting Denali backyard …
where only a few steps down the gently sloping footpath toward the ridge, the forest opened to reveal astounding views.
From there we could continue on …
under the railroad
for more day hiking around Horseshoe Lake.
Early Autumn beauty adorned the path.
The Denali duff layer seems to thrum with energy.
At least a foot thick, the duff provides shelter for a multitude of species – invertebrates, reptiles and voles.
The deep spongy mantle is merely the roof of a thriving underground industry which supports this intricate boreal environment. Only in the last decade has duff become a serious fire hazard.
Denali is a popular honeymoon destination, so we splurged.
Everyday we rode our bikes to town …
and crossed the highway to browse the shops …
and enjoy a coffee or ice cream.
The Grand Denali Lodge is a great place to have a glass of wine and take in the fascinating collection of art and artifacts and enjoy the panoramic view.
49th State Brewing
49th State Brewing and Restaurant is about a forty-minute drive from Riley Creek.
The flatbreads, beer, and base camp atmosphere make this a true destination brewery.
The replica of Magic Bus is parked in the spacious beer garden.
This property item for the set of Into The Wild served to tell the true story about the travels of Super Tramp, Chris McCandless. Some scenes from the film were shot in this area, not far from where McCandless died.
Why a young educated college man, lacking wilderness training, would step out onto the Alaska tundra, alone only to die in a bus he found on the Stampede Trail, shouldn’t be a mystery to anyone, and no wonder he became a legend for our time.
The trail between civilization and the Magic Bus intersects the ancient pilgrimage of the soul which is often the route to a sacred well. The Treacherous Road has long served as a toggle between extremes, a circular connection between the terrors you know and an actual Valley of the Shadow of Death.
The path tests you – goads you on while calling you a fool. Those who survive and follow the path home are usually embraced by their communities. They return wiser and stronger and less affected by their culture’s many failings because they have seen The Other Side of The Mountain. So, of course, after the 1996 publication of Into The Wild hundreds of McCandless Pilgrims set out for the Magic Bus annually.
The real Magic Bus – once located about thirty miles from the brewery on The Stampede Trail – was quietly removed by The National Guard (Operation Yuan) as an attractive nuisance and is being preserved in a secret place. But, thanks to 49th State Brewing, The McCandless legend lives on. Cheers.
Husky Homestead
We had a doggie date with the Art of Mushing at Husky Homestead. Our lil’ husky had to stay home for this one but we made up for it.
This was exciting – the stuff of legend with no tragic outcome.
Over the years I had read several feature articles about Jeff King, the Californian who moved to Alaska and became a world-famous Iditarod musher.
Sixty-six and still mushing, King walked us through a fascinating tour, telling his story with the vigor of a man half his age. The two hour tour concluded way too fast.
King makes it clear, the dogs are the real celebrities, athletes and winners.
Mushing, in King’s book, is a partnership between species.
The care and affection the dogs share with the entire staff is a joy to behold. If dog energy can heal (and some say it can) there was enough here to soothe every affliction of body and soul.
Jeff King’s story is a true epic Alaska adventure with all the hard work, danger and success.
A-boy-and-his-dog stories are my favorite and Husky Homestead is a living legacy to the genre. And best of all, we were invited to hug puppies.
The Mountain
With only one more day in the park, we still hadn’t seen The Mountain. Jim doubled down, comparing multiple weather reports which confirmed rain with a possible wind shift.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” He said, hopefully/doubtfully.
“Let’s pack a pot of coffee,” I said, “Drive Park Road, find a good pullout and wait. If it’s mean’t to be it will be.”
“It’s a date,” he said.
The next morning we drove the fifteen miles to the road block and turned around. The foothills were beautiful but so far, no Denali.
Even as the clouds lifted slightly, I continued my “Que Sera, Sera” speech, preparing us for disappointment.
“We’ve already had such a great time, better than expected. It’s only the lucky visitors who– wha!? Who0OO0oa!”
Did a mountain just swallow the sky?
We hit the breaks.
Good thing no one was behind us when Denali, The Great One, came out from behind the clouds, face shining.
Chapters in the “Airstreaming to Alaska” series
- Chapter 1 – San Diego to Malibu
- Chapter 2 – Malibu to Morro Bay
- Chapter 3 – Morro Bay to Santa Cruz
- Chapter 4 – Santa Cruz to San Francisco
- Chapter 5 – San Francisco to Eureka
- Chapter 6 – The Oregon Coast
- Chapter 7 – The Strait of Juan de Fuca
- Chapter 8 – Victoria, British Columbia
- Chapter 9 – Victoria to Mackenzie
- Chapter 10 – The Alaska Highway
- Chapter 11 – Yukon
- Chapter 12 – Top of the World Highway to Chicken, Alaska
- Chapter 13 – Tok to Valdez
- Chapter 14 – Glacier View to Anchorage
- Chapter 15 – Kenai Peninsula
- Chapter 16 – Whittier to Talkeetna
- Chapter 17 – Denali
- Chapter 18 – North Pole to Chena Hot Springs – coming soon!
- Chapter 19 – Tok to Haines – coming soon!
- Chapter 20 – Haines Junction to the Lower 48 – coming soon!
- Chapter 21 – Lesson Learned – coming soon!
If you want to see our exact route, click here.
*photos in this post (unless otherwise noted) were taken and copyrighted by Living In Beauty.
Excellent as usual…Young McCandless was a distance cousin of a fellow Vietnam Security Police Buddy of mine, Tom McCandless…his story, which I followed years ago, was interesting, but needless to say, strange…Keep living the Great Adventrues…
Pat!
It took seven years but with Alaska, we have 4-3-2’d 49 US states and 5 Canada provinces. We still have more to see and we’re excited about re-visiting some places. It’s been a beautiful ride. Thank you for joining us and for your encouragement.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
I was born in Alaska…before it was a state!! My dad was in the Air Force and we were transferred when I was three so we moved on to our next post just outside of San Francisco. Reading about your adventures in Alaska makes me want to return so thank you for sharing. I’m writing this from our campground on the space coast of Florida, our second ‘shake down’ trip in our new-to-us Airstream (2019 RBT Classic) before we make our annual trip to the PNW later this summer. I’ve used so many of your suggestions for gear, storage, and procedures and everything has worked out great so far. Thank you so much and safe travels!
Deanna!
How exciting it will be to someday return to your Alaska birthplace. Erecting markers with stacked stones is a thing there – you could mark the place of your birth for future generations.
My Dad visited Alaska by icebreaker when he was in the Navy in the early 50’s. Those old black and white photos of snow and ice inspired our journey north – but I couldn’t endure a winter there. 2023 was the coldest summer of my life – actually it’s the coldest I’ve ever been anywhere, at any time.
Gear is so personal. I’m always thrilled to hear (and a bit surprised) to hear that our choices sometimes work for others as well. Hey, let us know what cool things work for you! Sharing info is gold. We’re always researching and tweaking as we replace this and that or when we add something new (like the Ooni Pizza Oven, woo-hoo!) so keep checking Our Gear for updates.
Enjoy that Florida sunshine and Safe & Happy Travels on your cross-country trip!
Carmen@LIB
Wow and wow, what an adventure. Now I want to go back and read each one right after the other to get the full picture. By the way, your pictures are simply stunning. Love you guys. Linda
Hey Linda!
We love you too! I know you are a great photographer, so thank you for the compliment. Yes. Wow … Adventure comes with a price. We are still recovering. Alaska took a lot out of us. Traveling much more slowly is putting us right again. Thank you for treasuring these moments with us. It was worth it. xoxo
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
I believe Denali was where we met you guys. And like you, the mountain only revealed itself on the last day of our visit.
Charles!
Yes! It was Denali. How wonderful to hear from you!
That park was the highlight of our trip.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
How gorgeous. Major bucket list item
Yes, it was Vicki. The problem with bucket lists is that it’s hard to cross things off. I don’t want to draw a line through Denali 🙁 or Okracoke … or Big Bend … or Montreal …
I know! I’ll get another bucket 🤪
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Just read the blog entry. Looking forward to listening to the latest podcast episode as well. You guys are amazing. Thank you for your meticulous work in documenting your travels. Podcasts like your’s, RV Miles, RV Atlas, and others makes for wonderful mornings of listening for me when we are not camping.
Aw, thank you so much Casita Dean! Jim and I are so happy that you found us in the big-big world of RV podcasts – and are honored that you make us a part of your morning.
Best to you and Laura and …
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Beautiful pix as always Carmen. Thanks for clarifying that it is no longer McKinley. Jim didn’t offer an opinion about the brews — good, bad, lemony aftertaste?
I’m gonna hike around Lake Murray and see the majestic Cowles mountain next week . This Friday — Farmer’s Market in La Mesa to get some cookies from Big Al and possibly dinner at Casa Gabriella (used to be BO-beaux). Harpo and Groucho say hello to Pico de Gallo.
Saturday VO class with Deb — you know she has a baby now right?
Talk soon I hope
J & S
Hey Funniest Man!
Good job there of pushing all my homesick buttons. Should we add to that missing Liam and Laura’s wedding and not sitting in your garden sipping cocktails and catching up on the latest theatre gossip 😩
We’re at my sister’s. David, my brother-in-law, had major heart surgery today – three bypasses. We’ll be here a while. This place is gorgeous. Free room and board here in a hollar on the creek in the Smoky Mtn. National Forest. We have bear, foxes and wild turkeys passing through daily. Come on. Visit Dollywood. It’s wonderful. Sam will love it. Bring your earrings and pumps. Oh! And we have unlimited Apple Pie Moonshine 😊
Think about it …
xoxo,
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Wow! That’s awesome!
👍🏻
Wow, beautiful pictures and narrative. This Alaska trip has been epic. So glad you got to see Denali.
Dean!
So great to hear from you! Thank you for sharing in the agony and the ecstasy of Alaska, the highs and lows (and I mean temperatures). We’re still processing what we learned there. Definitely the trip of a lifetime.
I hope you have a fabulous summer ahead.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Wow, several pics there look amazingly like painting!
Hey Nathalia!
Why, thank you! The landscapes are just there for the taking – like free candy. But, still, my best efforts failed explain the beauty. It’s just too much.
So wonderful to hear from you.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Did the Airstream Alaskan Caravan in 2012….62 days. Was wonderful.
Hey Mary!
We saw an WBCCI Airstream caravan passing through in Haines. I wonder if was the same organizers?
https://airstreamclub.org/north-alaska-caravan-2024
That is a great choice for anyone who likes to travel with friends. It also relieves much of the stress of planning and scheduling. Brilliant idea!
Thanks for sharing your experience of overlanding to Alaska by caravan!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
A spectacle to behold, that Denali Mountain! Wow. I’m so happy for you two to have seen and captured it. Usually, our lifestyle allows us to be patient, but in the case of Denali, I don’t even know how long you had to wait.
Aaah, The Bus… It brings back memories of Alaska, when my ex-boyfriend did that multiple-day wilderness hike, armed with bear spray in 2004, while I stayed behind in my then truck camper and his dog. He showed me photos of the original specimen before it was removed.
Into the Wild became one of my favorite books – and movies – and its soundtrack my favorite CD. Eddie Vedder did an amazing job with that one.
Fabulous post!
Liesbet!
Jon Krakauer truly captured a travel story for this era. I, too, am touched by the many artists who gave honor to Chris’s journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwx3RvDWvDM
The ending is disturbing, but those of us – who take chances in the wild – know the score. When I was a teenager I hiked in the wilderness, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends my age – always poorly equipped and sleeping overnight under the stars. Anything could have happened. Yet, the attraction of that exquisite connection with the earth held us, spellbound. Nowadays, I am more risk-averse but thanks to my youthful recklessness I can still recall the exhilaration, and when I relive those moments a little bit of that into-the-wild blood runs through my veins.
I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with family business to keep up with your travels. Maybe tomorrow at the hospital I will have time to catch up. I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!
Safe & Happy Travels! 🪇
Carmen@LIB
Love your website and blog! We have just stumbled upon you while researching our future purchase of an Airstream. We also just returned from a cruise of a lifetime on the Alaska inside passage. Hence, we started with your most recent blog.
Looking forward to more excellent adventures revealed by you!
Hey Donna!
How lovely to have you with us!
Decades ago, my family went on that Alaska cruise and had the same experience – trip of a lifetime.
We are serious travelers – and with my aversion to cruises, airplanes and busses – Airstream Life is our ticket to the perfect retirement. This enormous continent can keep us in new-to-us places for a lifetime.
How exciting for you! On your way to finding a shiny new doorway to adventure! Cheers 🥂 and many Safe & Happy Travels ahead!
Carmen@LIB
What a wonderful journey.
Thank you for being with us, Margie!
Carmen@LIB
Brings back so many great memories. Many thanks
So glad to hear it, Patsie! We hope that someday this travel journal will provide us with many happy days of armchair adventures 😊
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
We will follow you on line for sure. Often wish we had kept better visible records. As John Denver once wrote about traveling,”Some take lots of pictures, and some just take their time.” So glad to see you’ve found a way to do both.
Safe travels, Hope we’ll see ya on down the road.
I mean, I thought you had the best trip ever when you said you got to hug adorable puppies, but you got to see Denali TOO??? Talk about winning!! That is so, so cool!!
Hey Laura!
Yes, it was a crap shoot to drive out there whenever we sensed the chance of a viewing. About a 20 minute drive to the closest viewing area, we left it up to fate if we would have a sighting – but many visitors do all-day stake outs out along the road. Staying at the Grand Denali Lodge is definitely an advantage for sightings. I don’t know, maybe they notify their guests when the mountain appears.
But even if we hadn’t seen the mountain, Denali National Park was the highlight of our Alaska trip. Someday we may fly to Anchorage, rent an RV, and see it again.
Great to hear from you!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB
Thank you for sharing all of your adventures, recommendations and knowledge with those of us who love to travel. We are looking forward to our time living full-time in an AS which is getting closer and closer to our reality. Everything you post is so helpful and inspiring. Looking forward to meeting you on the road. Much love.
Hey Melinda!
Sorry it took me so long to respond!
Congratulations on your plans to make The Road, Home. It is truly the adventure of a lifetime – and you are so smart to plan your retirement hack in an Airstream. We get so many emails from readers who have changed their rig over and over in a monumental effort to achieve symbiosis. If you are serious about travel (not just staying in one or two or three places) then Airstream is the time true solution.
Thank you for being with us!
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB