So, the lease on my previous place was up, so it was time to move. I found a place that was absolutely perfect - I just had to take it! Here are the pictures.
It's an igloo!
And not an itty-bitty one, as you can see.
The place is a bit of a fixer upper, but what place isn't? It just needs a bit of paint on the inside.
Some new windows on the outside.
New doors and some landscaping, but otherwise it's a lovely place.
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Just kidding. This place is an igloo, located on mile 188.5 on the George Parks Highway. It was designed by a man in the 1970's, names Leon Smith. He thought it be fitting that Alaska should have it's own igloo. So, he designed and built one. First off - igloos are not made of ice. They are made of sticks. Second - they're not homes, they're temporary shelters for Eskimos on hunting expeditions. This igloo? Made of plywood sheets. 888 to be exact. 4 stories tall. It's supposed to be a little resort. 40+ rooms, a dining room, atrium, etc. Only there was one major design flaw that nobody figured out when they started building it. I'll let you look at the pictures one more time (click on them to get enlargements) to figure out what it is.
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That's right. No fire exits! It's a rather major design flaw. Thus, after construction went underway, funding was cancelled, and it never went through. At the beginning of the summer, I did see a for sale sign on it. Any buyers?
I took a roadtrip back on Sept 28 to go see some of the crazy sights we see along the way when touring over the summers, but never get to stop off at. So, I took some pictures. First stop? The town of Willow.
The little town of Willow, Alaska. Why Willow?
...Traffic, due to construction. Ok, so not so fun yet.
But, my first planned stop was the little community (very little I might add...it's not even really a town) called Trapper Creek. In Trapper Creek, there is the famous store.
Wal-Mikes! This is the real deal.
This place has everything.
Whether you would want it or not, it's there.
I didn't get pictures of the inside, but I found all kinds of household goods (toasters, coffee pots, pans, lamps, books, WD-40, tools, etc), many of which are used - and really are dirt cheap. The place is like a combination of Wal-Mart, Savers, Ace Hardward, and a post office all in one.
Next off was a fairly common stop for our tours, but still worth going to. This is the Denali View South Overlook. It's a rest stop that looks upon the Alaska Range from the East. Quite nice, really.
So, this mountain that IS in the picture is Mt. Hunter. Can you see it? It's the mountain that's slightly off-center to the right, and covered in snow. If you can't, these next two pictures will help define it.
Now, while Mt. Hunter doesn't seem so large in the picture, you can see from the diagrams that it is about 3-4x further away from where I am than the black mountains in front of it. Put that into perspective. You'll also notice there's a mountain that's missing, according to the first diagram. Mt. Foraker is supposed to be in the picture. Where is it? Hiding in the clouds, as it usually does. A mountain as large as Foraker tends to draw clouds to it, thus making it not so visible.
And of course, the reason to visit the South Overlook. Denali. Mt. McKinley. Whatever you want to call it. Notice, it too is obscured (but only partly) by clouds. Look above, to the left of the big spruce tree. There's another 10,000+ foot mountain to the right, called Moose's Tooth. It's mostly obscured - to the right of the big spruce tree, directly above the little opening of the river that you can see. It's the lightest grey rock in the picture. Good luck finding it.
Next up was Byer's Lake. It's a campground site, as well as a place for fly fishermen, to catch trout and grayling. Never been there before, but it was quite and peaceful.
Next is the bridge that goes over Hurricane Gulch.
The view of the valley is quite spectacular, though less so when all the leaves are dead. This view is to the east of the bridge.
This to the west.
Next up...the famed Mile 180 Lake. Ok, not so famous, but I point it out as when in a land of 3 million lakes (Alaska) there are some lakes that just don't really have names.
The lake was frozen over. It's September. Well, mostly frozen over. I discovered that parts of the lake are just slushy when I tried to walk around the lake.
The results of my attempt to walk around it. It was very cold and unexpected. Wasn't sure how deep the water would be, but fortunately where I stepped, it was less than ankle deep.
Next stop? Honolulu!!!
...creek that is.
Just a peaceful little creek that runs under the highway bridge.
People say I don't smile enough. I think that is because most people don't see me in Alaska.
There? See how happy I am here?
The trip culminated at the visit to the igloo. I made my way back south to Anchorage at that point. I stopped off in the town of Talkeetna to have dinner with my friends Holly and Dale. Holly is a bartender at the Talkeetna Lodge, and Dale is a pilot for K2 aviation. He flies people around the mountains and drops off climbers who want to climb Denali. Great day in all.
