camping in Alaska with two little ones

After making  the trek from Provo to Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City to Anchorage we began our Alaskan adventure. The kids did great on the flight, though M was a bit nervous at takeoff. Upon our arrival we got upgraded to a minivan at Enterprise since they were out of cars which was ideal. We were able to catch up a bit with Erik's cousin Erin and her kids and we settled in for our first night at their house. M quickly made friends with "the cousins" and was disappointed when we parted ways.

After a great hot breakfast the next morning, we packed up the car and were on the road by 11. Our first stop on the drive up was for lunch in Talkeetna (this is where most climbers begin ascents of Mt McKinley via a flight to base camp.) We got lunch at Mountain high pizzeria. The kids got a chance to walk around and we even played a game of cornhole while we waited for our food. We had thought there was a road that would connect us back to the main highway, but it turns out we had to backtrack a bit. We made a quick stop at a lake with float planes before continuing on, and spotting the first of many bald eagles. Our next stop was Denali Viewpoint South where J led the way up a short path. The mountain was partially covered by clouds but still visible. As we approached Denali National Park Entrance we stopped for dinner for a $10 subway footlong. We checked in and got an ice cream before venturing toward camp around 6. It wasn't long before we spotted our first animal, a caribou. Upon reaching mile 15 the park road is no longer accessible to private vehicles unless you are camping and have a permit (which we did.) The road also shifts from being paved to dirt. We stopped to fill out the log at the ranger station and eagerly continued on. Our camp at Teklanika River was located at mile 29, about halfway to the Eilson Visitor center at mile 66, which is about 2/3 of the way down the road, and about as far as most people venture out. On our drive we spotted a ptarmigan with babies along side the road. We arrived and set up camp around 8:30. Erik and M walked down to the river to explore and then we settled in for the night though it was still quite light even at 10:30 at night.

We slept pretty well though it did get colder than we had anticipated, probably down to the mid 40's. We ate a quick breakfast and packed a backpack with food for lunch. We caught a bus to Eilson Visitor center with the Kelty carrier in hand. It was about a 2 hr bus ride and we saw a porcupine, caribou, fox, dahl sheep, and two bears a way off down by the river. We watched a short film, ate lunch and did a little exploring of the area. On the bus ride back we saw a caribou right in front of us on the road, a pica, and the bears again. At various points the dirt road is up very high on a windy road and it was a little nerve racking. In that way it reminded us of the Amalfi coast in Italy minus people in their own cars driving like maniacs.

Back at camp and eager to stretch our legs after eating some dinner, we decided to make our way down the road a short distance to view a beaver pond. Some neighboring campers with dogs were headed the other direction up the road and M and J were eager to follow them instead, which we did. After a bit we caught up and J was especially excited to see the dogs. We decided to head back then and as we approached the road to camp M assured us his legs were not tired and that he now wanted to see the beaver pond. We got a picture in front of the campground sign and then a ranger drove up. He said he had just seen a bear a quarter mile down the road by the beaver pond and that it was running up the road. We headed back to camp and hung out trying to avoid pesky Mosquitos (they were not that bad, though we were told two weeks earlier they had been much worse and in my opinion any Mosquitos can be very annoying.) There was a ranger program that we attended that night. Afterward we spoke to the campers with dogs . When they heard of the bear they decided to walk through a short section of forest to the river which ran parallel to the road  in order to avoid the bear. As they exited the forest they ran into the bear which had also left the road and made its way along the riverbed, passing very near our camp. The bear started two bluff charges but never got closer than 100 ft (still closer than you'd want to be to a grizzly) before deciding to head off down the river. We were relived we had avoided the bear by following the dogs instead earlier but slightly jealous of their viewing since all had ended well. That night we told stories in the tent until our two little ones were asleep again under the sun.

It got quite cold again our 2nd night but we slept well playing musical sleeping bags rotating turns with a kid in one of our bags. At one point M wanted to be close to his dad and J slept well by herself in M's bag. In planning for the trip we had thought since she was so little, it would be best for her to be in our bags. in the end we both agreed a 2nd children's sleeping bag would have worked great too. After breakfast we caught a shuttle bus from our camp headed further into the park making a bit of a spectacle with two car seats and two Kelty carriers containing our two little outdoor adventurers. It appeared a great deal of people in the park were taking the bus ride but not hiking and many people seemed a little fascinated that we were doing just that with M and J. We got off at igloo creek and after securing the car seats in bear proof food lockers, we attempted to bushwack our way to the top of the mountain. We made it up part of the way but gained some substantial elevation with a nice view where we enjoyed a snack before heading back down. J happily joined in as we called out "hey bear" trying to make noise so wouldn't surprise any wildlife. M occasionally helped by ringing the bell. 

Back at camp we loaded up the car to head out. Back at mile 15 we encountered a large male caribou on the road and snapped some close pictures. We stopped at park headquarters to see the sled dog demonstration. J was hard to contain and the dogs were pretty excited about her as well. After the demonstration we walked around the visitors center, caught part of a film, and got some yummy food from the grill. J found a stuffed animal dog and M a lollipop and with that we were back on the road. Soon after that we spotted a mama and baby moose along the highway. It was a long drive with few stops but we made it back to anchorage a little before midnight. The kids were asleep and we both enjoyed hot showers.