July 9, 2009

July 9, 2009

It rained all night. I am not complaining…this time. I am hoping it will kill some of the forest fires and clear the smoke out. We leave Denali National Park and head south towards Anchorage. Alaska is a big state and all drives are long. The road is lined with beautiful magenta wildflowers called Fireweed. It got its name because it is the first plant that grows after a forest fire.

On the drive we stop at Denali State Park (not to be confused with the National Park) to see the Alaska Veterans Memorial. Besides a leisurely walk to Byers Lake, we read the interpretative signs about Alaska’s war highlights. Surprisingly it started during the Civil War when a rebel warship sailed to the Bering Sea to harass the Union’s whaling fleet off Alaska. Alaska figured prominently in WWII when the Japanese invaded and occupied some of the Aleutian Islands. During the Cold War, Alaska had several important air bases that played a key early warning role against intercontinental ballistic missiles. A couple weeks ago we talked to a man who was once stationed up here and he regaled us with stories of flights to listen to Russian communications.

From the state park we continue our journey south stopping for the night in Wasilla, AK, the governor’s hometown. We are thinking of calling up Sara to see if she is free for dinner.