Denali Natural History Tour review

We took the Denali Natural History tour from the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, we saw a variety of things, such as a ranger cabin, a variety of plants, moose, snowshoe hare, caribou ( way off in the distance).  A number of people took a longer trip and saw many more animals than we did. I was trying to fit in so many more activities, that I took the shorter trip, the one that came free with my package. If you aren't running from event to event, I would recommend trying to see the other tour that was longer and went further into the park. Actually, I would have liked a few days to just experience the park. I never even got to the park museum. Everybody told me before I went, that a day or two in Denali was almost too much time: They were soooo wrong!

My best Moose picture!  I took a lot. This cow had a calf behind her in the woods, but I never got a good shot of the calf

 the caribo were pretty far away and it was drizzling, but I saw a few. I have a 40x lens but this is as good as I could get in order to get multiple caribou in one shot.

A single, but to enlarge it this much it's really grainy.

 A snowshoe hare blends in with it's surroundings for summer. By winter, the hair of the hare will be white.

A family of Ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska

belladonna, a sedative also known as deadly nigh shade, for obvious reasons.

Fireweed. This plant is the first to grow in the area after a fire, hence its name. It also is said to be able to predict the first snow by the number of flowers left at the top. Each layer of flower represents how many more weeks before the snow flies. Also a great source of vitamin C.

Traditional Things to do in Old Forge, New York

 There's McCauley Mountain: I recommend going in the fall to see the changing leaves

There are a variety of camping options nearby. Nick's Lake has more family options than most of the state parks in the Adirondack region. It's extremely close to the town of Old Forge, which makes it very convenient for families to take part in the natural setting activities as well as the amusement parks, art museums, restaurants, and shops. To be honest, I don't stay there. It's too "family oriented". I like the quieter, more natural campgrounds; however, this location is best for families and Old Forge visitors.

There's an area on Old Forge pond which has a nice walkway and there is a lot of area to park your boat, if you have one. The local marina rents boats as well. The best time I had on my party barge, many years ago now, was to take the party barge in at Inlet, travel down to Old Forge on July 4th, and sit in the pond and listen to the band and watch the fireworks from the boat. We brought the gas grill and cooked on the boat as well.

Just another view of the pond

It's just too big to get a good picture all al once, but every trip to Old Forge requires a stop at the famous Old Forge Hardware Store. They truly have the most interesting things there. It you can't find it anywhere else, they will have it. You can even buy plastic table cloth material cut to size. They have gourmet foods, specialty yarns, tourist items, household, camping equipment, clothes, and as a hardware store,  they have nuts and bolts. They have it all!

 There's the Strand Theater.
Always good to see a current show, but a life saver on those weeks when you're camping and it seems to rain every night.

An old time Favorite is Walt's Diner.  Old-fashioned home-made diner fare. It's just a classic. There are a number of other restaurants in town, pizza, burgers, even chains, but Walt's says "Old Forge".

     

 

Just a basic road view. This is the end of August and it's not that busy. Granted it's a weekday and not a weekend, but it still doesn't have that annoying traffic of bigger vacation towns like Lake George.

If you've ever wanted to try Kayaking, or trying to purchase the right one, you definitely need to go to Mountain Man Outdoor Supply Company. They have rentals, boats to purchase, and all the associated supplies. I purchased two of my kayaks from Mountain Man during their Rendezvous Sale in the fall.

 just a small amount of their inventory.

 Of course, no trip to Old Forge is complete without a stop at the Candy Cottage. Get me a quarter pound of haystacks and I'll be your best friend, at least until they're gone.

There's a nice sandy swimming beach which still has a dock to swim to with a diving board.

And the self-proclaimed " Largest Water Theme Park in the North-East"! 

Enchanted Forest, Water Safari.

And for those with more refined tastes, there is "The View" an art museum which also offers classes and activities.

I really like Old Forge as an alternative to a major vacation town. It has a nice mix of everything you need, things to keep you busy in bad weather, restaurants, and it's still not sooo crowded most of the time.

Nenana River Rafting, Alaska, review

This was one of my favorite excursions in Alaska. It was cold and wet, but our guide was funny as heck. Plus, the one thing I wanted more than anything on the trip was to see a moose in the wild. Everyone else had seen them except me.  Until this trip. As we rounded a bend, there at the shore, munching away, was a moose mom and two young. It was amazing to see them so close up and in their natural setting. Of course, due to the rapids and nature of the activity, I didn't have my camera. My friend explained it that nature wanted me to actually see it live, rather than fiddling with a camera and only getting to see the picture afterwards. It is a picture in my mind that I will never forget. I did get to see ore moose afterwards, but this viewing was special. Oh, and the rafting itself was a lot of fun too. I would highly recommend it.

Do you see what's wrong with this picture?

Yes, it's really a real estate sign, but doesn't it look wrong to see two deer heading toward a sign that says "HUNT" ?

Squirrel Stole my Graham Cracker!

I generally don't approve of feeding wildlife, but it wasn't intentional, originally. I had been reading, you can see the glasses and book set down on the table haphazardly, in the video. The squirrel came up as I was reading and took the graham cracker right away between my reaching in and grabbing one. My arm was resting right against the package. So then I put my book down and set up my camera to see if the bold little devil would come back, and with such easy pickings, who can blame him ( or her).  After I got a video surveillance of the perpetrator,  the graham crackers were moved to a safer location.

I burned his home!

I was scavenging downed branches for free firewood along Uncas Road and I broke apart a branch to throw into my fire, and this little guy was inside the crack in the branch. I almost burned him! 

Raquette Lake Inlet from Brown's Tract Pond

I have always loved the natural setting of the inlet to Raquette Lake. I have taken the outlet from Brown's Tract Pond by site 89 through to this end at Raquette Lake. It took about 4 hours because of the downed trees. That was a few years ago now, not sure how many trees are in the way anymore. It is a beautiful trail. Narrow in spots. You have to be able to get in and out of our kayak or canoe easily because of the number of times you have to lift your boat over the downed trees. Also, if kayaking, make use you can use your paddle like a canoe paddle due to narrow spots.

looking from bridge to Raquette Lake

Showing diversity of plant life supported in the area

View from bridge back towards Brown's Tract Pond

Lilly pads. PLEASE DO NOT PICK TH FLOWERS!