Alaska: Day 11: 7-16-93: Flightseeing, Gold Panning, Monster Veggies and Spam

Today was designated a travel day, although we still planned to cram in as many little side trips as we could between Denali and Anchorage. We got up early, suffered through one final "I-can't-believe-the-f$%#ing-water-stopped-when-I-still-have-soap-in-my-eye" shower, piled ourselves back into the Rent-A-Car and headed for Talkeetna, where the girls wanted to visit a gold mine. Along the way, we played a heated game of Ghost and a new game I called "Masterword" (Basically, Mastermind with letter combinations instead of colors).

Upon our arrival in Talkeetna, I saw signs for flightseeing tours of the Mt. McKinley area. I immediately convinced Dan and Dave to join me at the K2 Airfield for an impromptu air adventure (the girls decided to sit this one out). Limited on time, we regrettably couldn't take a "landing flight" in which the airplane sets down on a glacier, offering a chance to take a stroll on top of it. But we still ended up getting a pretty awesome ride. After forking over $85 each, we were escorted to a 4-seater piper plane by our pilot, Rich.


----------------------------That's Right -- I Own This (Not!)------------------------

He asked if anyone wanted to be the co-pilot, and I didn't hesitate. It was very cool -- I maneuvered into the snug cockpit and donned a radio headset. Faced with a dizzying array of lights, dials and counters in front of me, as well as my own steering wheel, I felt like a flying ace from Top Gun. I closed the door, Rich communicated with the control tower & flicked some switches, and we took off.


-------------------------Flying Ace Ready For Take Off---------------------------

It was undoubtedly one of the most intense experiences of my two dozen years. We flew at a cruising altitude between 5,000 and 9,000 ft. across Alaskan airspace -- I felt like I owned the sky and everything below! It was a gorgeous day, and, with the exception of a hazy cloud cover over some of the outlying mountains (including, unfortunately, Mt. McKinley itself -- well, our luck couldn't hold out forever!), it proved ideal for sightseeing. We soared between frosty mountains and over glacial ice fields & rocky cliffs. We flew within 6 miles of Mt. McKinley, across the sparkling wonderland of the Ruth Amphitheatre (I was awestruck by my bird's-eye view of the Ruth Glacier -- a forever field of ice; a frozen ocean with crevasses hundreds of feet wide and thousands of feet deep). Wasteland gave way to Grassland as we sailed over the Alaskan plains, sighting a pair of Moose Bulls (though not Moose Balls -- my eyesight is not that good!) and several pairs of Trumpeter Swans. I regretted coming down and started seriously considering obtaining a pilot's license before the wheels even touched ground.

--------------------An Aerial Shot Of The Ruth Amphitheatre-------------------------(Notice The Glacier Winding Through The Mountains)------

-------------------------------The Mouth Of The Glacier-----------------------------

After landing, we jumped back in the car with the girls and rumbled down Hatcher Pass, the bumpiest stretch of road I've ever felt. It was 20 miles of unpaved, rocky, dusty, axle bending, teeth-rattling travel, but we finally clattered our way to Independence Mine State Historic Park. Here, we saw the remains of a gold mining operation from the early 1900's. It was an interesting slice of history -- I learned a good deal about gold mining and even had the opportunity to pan for some gold of my own. Due to time constraints, I only panned for a few minutes, but I did manage to find 2 or 3 flecks of gold dust! (I'm not quite ready to quit my job just yet, but hey, it's a start.)

After leaving the Independence Mine, we decided to go to Palmer, in the Matanuska Valley -- the guide book said this area of Alaska was known to produce vegetation of gargantuan proportions (The chance to spy a 90 pound eggplant or a forest of broccoli held a strange appeal). Again, time pressures prevented us from getting a full tour of the outlying farms, but we still managed to see some intensely colorful flowers and a modest garden of Mega-Veggies, including a humongous head of cabbage (about the size of a doghouse) and a 5 foot rutabaga. Though the locals certainly weren't giving away their gardening secrets, I suspect it has something to do with liberal doses of nuclear radiation (plus a little Miracle Grow).

By now, we were worn out with all the racing around, and it was growing late, so we zoomed back to Anchorage without further delay. We had just enough time to drop off our stuff and purty ourselves up before making our way over to the Fly-By-Night Club for an evening of comedy, music and beer. A group of rather warped locals put on a show called "The Whale Fat Follies" which poked fun at anything and everything Alaskan, including:
* The controversial governor, Wally Hinkle
* A motel midway between Anchorage and Fairbanks owned by a thin man named Richard which is called -- I shit you not -- "Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn"
* Alaska's dubious distinction of being the 2nd largest SPAM consuming state in the nation
It was a very amusing show which, not surprisingly, grew increasingly more hilarious with each brew I consumed (a brand called "Wicked Ale").

After the show, I did a little dancing with Marce, Roz and Dan (Dave, possibly sensing our complete lack of rhythm, wisely declined) and then played some pool (Both Dan and Dave fell to my mighty cue stick!). Finally, at midnight, we decided to call it quits, exhausted but satiated by the night's food, froth and fun.