Sunday, July 9, 2023
This morning it was very windy and cloudy with temperatures starting out at 54 degrees.
After a breakfast of pancakes and bacon, we left at 9:15 a.m. to go ride the free "Savage River" shuttle to where we would start the Savage River Loop Trail, which is located near the end of the paved and publicly-accessible portion of the Denali Park Road.
Savage River is known as Tr'at'egheth No' in the Lower Tanana dialect, meaning "From Cottonwood Creek."
The shuttle bus stopped at the Park Headquarters, but we stayed on.
We were always watching for wildlife and maybe a glimpse of "The Great One," the mountain we all admire, Denali!
No chance of seeing Denali today as the clouds are pretty thick.
I think we are catching a tiny glimpse of a little bit of Denali.
We have arrived at the Savage River bus stop. As we depart, we take a picture of the bus schedule to know when the bus will be back here.
The above interpretive panel provided information about Savage River. The sweeping expanse of the glaciated valley to the south meets a steeper V-shaped valley carved by the river here. The terrain offers a glimpse of the geology of this region, from the erosional power of glaciers and rivers to the layers of ancient schist rock towering above either side of the valley.
Savage Rock, a prominent outcropping near the trailhead, is home to ravens on top, and in the scattered rocks below. The willows along the river banks may hide their namesake willow ptarmigans. A grizzly bear may stroll through in search of food.
The first bridge across the Savage River was built in 1925 using timbers hauled on a horse-drawn sleigh. Remnants of the original bridge's wooden piles are still visible downstream of the modern bridge. The park built the concrete replacement in 1951, followed by the current concrete bridge installed in 1982.
We set off on a hike of the Savage River Loop Trail. It is very windy, so we will have to keep a strong hold on everything with us today.
This two-mile loop trail travels along either side of Savage River as it carves a canyon between Mount Margaret to the west and Healy Ridge to the east. The trail goes nearly one mile before crossing the river with a bridge, and returning on the other side. The trail stays near the river most of the time with only a few areas where it rises a few dozen feet higher than the river level.
The interpretive panel above describes the landscape of timeless beauty and provides a map of the Savage River Loop Trail.
The above interpretive panel describes the opportunity to cross paths with the locals -- meaning the animals and plants in this subarctic ecosystem.
Mel walks along the Savage River Loop Trail.
There are some benches along the trail, just in case you need to take a break.
There are also areas where you can walk right up to the Savage River.
We continue along the trail walking along the river and into a rocky canyon with some very unique and rugged rocky walls.
Mel stops to take a selfie among the rocks on the trail.
Below is the midpoint of the Savage River Canyon loop where we will soon cross over the river via a wooden bridge and hike on the other side of the river for a different perspective as we head back.
We have now come to the end of the maintained portion of the trail going this way before we cross the wooden bridge.
Do you see the black bear crossing in the middle of the river in the above picture? (FOOLED YOU. IT'S NOT A BEAR, BUT A BIG BLACK ROCK.)
Mel continues on the trail past a bunch of beautiful wildflowers.
See the brilliant pink fireweed growing on the island above. Fireweed is a tall showy wildflower that grows from sea level to the subalpine zone. A colorful sight, fireweed thrives in open meadows, along streams, roadsides and forest edges.
The name fireweed stems from its ability to colonize areas burned by fire rapidly. It was one of the first plants to appear after the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980. Fireweed is a hardy perennial that grows from 4 to 6 feet high but can reach a towering 9 feet in some areas. The leaves are unique in that the leaf veins are circular and do not terminate at the leaf edges. A spike of up to 50 or more pink to rose-purple flowers adorns the top of the stems from June to September. The seeds have tufts of silky hairs at the end. A single fireweed plant can produce 80,000 seeds. Today, fireweed honey, jelly and syrup are very popular in Alaska where this species grows in abundance.
As we continue along the trail, we can now see the bridge on the park road that crosses the Savage River.
We climb back up along the path to cross over the Savage River bridge to go back to where the bus dropped us off earlier. Savage River has an elevation of 2,780 feet. The bus is sitting there to take us back to the Bus Depot.
Once at the Bus Depot, we decided to go inside and watch the film, "Across Time & Tundra," where we learned about the creation of the Denali Park Road. After the film was over we walked back to our campsite in Riley Creek Campground.
We got back to our campsite from our bus ride and hike at Savage River at 2:00 p.m. I took the picture (see above) of what is called "Birch Leaf Miners." Birch Leaf Miners are the flat, white larvae of a black sawfly, a tiny plant-feeding wasp. The larvae feed between the upper and lower leaf surfaces. The adult wasps lay eggs in leaf litter on the ground that hatch into foliage-eating larvae. As they feed, they mine through birch leaves, creating pale tunnels as seen above.
We then decided to get in the truck and go to the boardwalk area to get a late lunch, early dinner at Prospector's Pizzeria & Alehouse.
As we parked I took a picture (see above and below) of the McKinley Chalet Resort where we will go see the "Music Of Denali" dinner theatre on Thursday. The McKinley Chalet Resort is situated in the heart of the Denali Canyon on the banks of the Nenana River and is owned by the Carnival Corporation (with Holland America or Princess Cruises using the resort).
Inside Prospector's Pizzeria & Alehouse we see an extensive collection of historical photographs, maps, animals and furs.
Shown above is Mel enjoying a craft beer at the 49th State Brewery inside Prospector's Pizzeria.
Mel and I shared the baked tomato soup above. Yes it is a baked soup! It was a delicious house-made tomato soup with herb croutons and pepperoni topped with a generous portion of mozzarella and provolone cheese. So yummy, gooey and rich!
Mel had the Alaskan Elk Meat sandwich with fries. It was made from handmade elk meatballs, marinara sauce, mozzarella and provolone cheese on a toasted Parisian roll.
I had the Chicken Parmigiana sandwich with fries. It was made from house recipe fried chicken, marinara sauce, mozzarella, provolone and Parmesan cheeses on a toasted Parisian roll.
Monday, July 10, 2023
Another windy day at Riley Creek Campground. Today the temperature started out at 51 degrees, and would reach 64 degrees.
Our friends, Brian and Karen Burk got to Riley Creek Campground at 5:30 p.m. in the afternoon. They are parked on site #A4, which is just a few sites down from us.
We went over to visit with Brian and Karen at their campsite after having our dinner of leftover pizza from Panorama Pizza.
Karen and Brian Burk (see above) are relaxing after a long drive to Riley Creek Campground.
Shown above and below is Kenai, Brian and Karen's Bengal kitten. Bengals are a domesticated cat breed from a hybrid of the Asian Leopard Cat with domestic cats, especially the spotted Egyptian Mau. It is then usually bred with a breed that demonstrates a friendlier personality, because after breeding a domesticated cat with a wildcat, its friendly personality may not manifest in the kitten.
A Bengal kitten must be from a breeding with at least four generations removed from the Asian Leopard Cat. Bengals have a wild appearance with their golden shimmer coming from their leopard cat ancestry, and their coats may show spots, rosettes, arrowhead markings or marbling. They are an energetic breed that needs much exercise and play.
We drifted off to sleep, after seeing our friends, Brian and Karen, and getting our Kenai the kitten fix for the night.
Shirley & Mel
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