A moose and her calf near the entrance to DenaliCopyright 2007 Lydia Hinshaw
DENALI NATIONAL PARK, AK -- After 21 (or was it 22?) days on the road, we finally made it to our summer-job destination Monday.
Alaska weather finally caught up with us too. After six days of sunshine, we drove through rain and snow flurries in the final 125 miles this morning. Mount McKinley, the centerpiece of the park, remained hidden in the clouds, as it does most of the time in the warmer months. Many tourists spend a week here without ever seeing the mountain, but we have four months to get lucky.
About the only thing worth photographing along the roadside were these two moose munching on underwater vegetation. Mom is on the left, and her year-old calf on the right. Since I arrived here I chanced to have lunch with a naturalist who told me that this cow moose is almost certainly pregnant, and will be having her new calf soon. When the new baby arrives, junior here will be booted out of the nest to try and make in on his (or her) own.
We spent the rest of the day Monday doing paperwork and getting assigned housing, which is rather better than we expected. We have our own private bath, while many employees here don't even have toilets and showers in the same buildings they live in. And some, I've since discovered, don't yet have running water in their showerhouses. They have porta-potties on their porches, and must catch a bus to get to showers.
The summer is off to a good start, but the dining room with the wi-fi is is about to close for the night. And I thought I was through with early deadlines!
Alaska weather finally caught up with us too. After six days of sunshine, we drove through rain and snow flurries in the final 125 miles this morning. Mount McKinley, the centerpiece of the park, remained hidden in the clouds, as it does most of the time in the warmer months. Many tourists spend a week here without ever seeing the mountain, but we have four months to get lucky.
About the only thing worth photographing along the roadside were these two moose munching on underwater vegetation. Mom is on the left, and her year-old calf on the right. Since I arrived here I chanced to have lunch with a naturalist who told me that this cow moose is almost certainly pregnant, and will be having her new calf soon. When the new baby arrives, junior here will be booted out of the nest to try and make in on his (or her) own.
We spent the rest of the day Monday doing paperwork and getting assigned housing, which is rather better than we expected. We have our own private bath, while many employees here don't even have toilets and showers in the same buildings they live in. And some, I've since discovered, don't yet have running water in their showerhouses. They have porta-potties on their porches, and must catch a bus to get to showers.
The summer is off to a good start, but the dining room with the wi-fi is is about to close for the night. And I thought I was through with early deadlines!
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