Dr. Alison Marr

So, after our wildlife adventures today, we decided we needed to post some of the sweet videos we’ve taken. The first one is from the Seward marine tour. Then, we have the owl in Denali. Look for its baby moving at the end of the video. Then, there is a short video of the bear. We have a longer one, but this gives you an idea of how the bear looks for food.

While in Alaska, I came down with a scorching case of Bear Fever (The doctors call it BF for short, it’s a medical term). Some of the symptoms include a snarling snorty roaring sounds when sleeping, a passion for salmon, growth of patchy hair on the face much like a bear, a love of berries and roots, and a desire to hibernate in the colder climates such as the Aspen Haus Bed and Breakfast in Denali.

Here are some pictures of me searching for some Alaskan bears.

I was pretty disappointed when Alison explained that none of these were actual real bears, you know she has a PhD in math and coolness so I had to believe her. But I never gave up and my BF could not be denied no matter what, so now ladies, gentlemen, and Chris Noble… I present you with a real picture of an Alaskan grizzly bear that was literally 8 feet away from our tour bus in Denali National park.

Today was another great day! We spent 12 hours in Denali National Park (well, with travel time and dinner at The Salmon Bake). We rode a bus into the park about 54 miles and got off and did some hiking for about 1.5 hours. Then, we got back on the bus headed back to the front of the park. We saw soooooo much wildlife along the way. You won’t believe some of the pics we got. And, this is just a small sample. Hope you enjoy the beauty of this huge national park.

P.S…It was also snowing most of the day and during our hike. GOOD times!

So, Jeff and I booked an 8 AM rafting tour w/ Denali Outdoor Center. When we woke up this morning, it was misting with a hint of snow. I’m not sure what the temperature was, but even with my 4 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of socks I wasn’t too warm. When we arrived at the rafting center, they informed us we should add some more layers they had lying around. So, I added another fleece jacket, a scarf, Jeff’s fleece hat, and 2 pairs of gloves. Jeff also added another pair of pants, a wool sweater, a hat, and a pair of gloves.

We then suited up in some stylish drysuits. You can see us looking good in the attached photo. My face still felt cold, but I was ready!

We went on a 4-hour raft trip. Our boat consisted of 2 macho New Yorkers, Al and Dean, a young German high school grad, Andy, Jeff and I, and our guide Paul from Philly. The first 2 hours was spent just floating down the river. It was pretty, but it was cold and I almost fell asleep because it was so boring. However, Jeff, Andy and Paul were having lots of good conversation so it wasn’t terrible. AND we floated on the part of the river that was used in the movie “Into the Wild” when Chris is trying to get back and the river is all crazy. Our tour guide was actually the one who took Sean Pean (the director) and others down the river for the filming. The major problem on this part of the trip was my freezing feet. They were inside rubber boots as part of the one piece drysuit and had slip on shoes on top of that, but sitting in the 30 degree water in the boat didn’t make them any warmer.

After the float trip, we stopped for a quick break. However, when we headed back to the rafts for round two (the rapids) we were minus one member. You may think it was me. We all know I’m not a huge fan of the cold. But, no. It was good old Dean from New York. He bailed because “he couldn’t feel his feet” and “his face was so cold.” Jeff was pretty pumped up about me sticking it out…but I wasn’t going anywhere till I saw some rapids. Frostbite or not.

After our short break, where I was able to run around and get the feeling back in my feet, we headed back out on the water for the real rapids. It had warmed up a little at this point and the sun was out, and I was starting to feel good. The only thing that was really cold on the second part were my hands as they got wet and stayed wet. The rapids were pretty sweet. However, they weren’t as crazy as usual because the glaciers haven’t melted completely yet and so the river is a little low. But, we still had fun.

We’re in our cabin now, but I’m still cold as this place holds NO heat. I’m thinking of fixing myself a glass of hot tea cuz it’s just sooo cold. But, now I can say I’ve rafted the Nenana river in Alaska.

Hey everyone, we left Amy & Doug’s sweet cabin in North Pole just outside of Fairbanks yesterday. If there was one thing I had to tell you about Amy Komar is that she doesn’t mess around when it comes to a good meal! One of the mornings she made us some really awesome pancakes and bacon, and then for dinner she whipped up some Moose Fajitas – a little bit of texmex, a little bit of Alaska, and a whole lot of Komar. It was really great seeing her and I recommend you buy one of her paintings!

On the way to Denali we stopped off at good ole’ Gold Dredge Number 8, I self diagnosed myself as having a severe to moderate case of gold fever. There is gold in them thar Alaskan hills. Seriously, we took a tour of this ancient giant tunneling gold digger thing that looked like an enormous rusted transformer. Of course I challenged Alison to a gold panning contest… I tried my hardest and collected a whopping $7.95 in gold flakes but Alison barely beat me with $8.50. We are now brainstorming on what we will do with our gold dust dreams, the good news is I’m just that much closer to those golden vampire teeth I’ve always wanted.

It was also memorial day, I snapped this picture of the American flag during the mining tour. I’m not some super American rah rah patriot type of guy, but both of my grandfathers did fight in WWII and as I get older I can say I appreciate what they did for me more and more, regardless of my personal thoughts on any current military situation.

Also, after two servings of moose, we actually saw our first alive one! YESSSSSSS