Cramming in fall
Change of season. It’s getting darker earlier. Now by 9:00 pm! There is clearly a nip in the air. A few mountains have termination dust on them. The sunny, vibrant hillsides of the mountains are sporting their red and yellow coats. When we were living in our one-room log cabin near the base of Denali at this time of year, we could relate to the squirrels getting their nests ready.
September is the glory month of fall in Alaska. You hate to let go of the glorious summer but it’s always exciting to meet the unknowns of winter. Everyone is out enjoying the last of the nice weather, cramming in final warm rays of the sun and the scenic colors ablaze on the trees and mountainsides.
I took advantage of one cloudless, sunny Saturday to drive up to Hatcher Pass to soak in the views, implanting them into my eyes memory before heading back “outside” to the Lower 48 in a couple of weeks. While just getting settled in for lunch, another Promaster van passed me. Stopped. Turned around and parked next to me. You just can’t pass up an opportunity to meet another vanlifer, particularly with the same kind of van. Craig had also done his own buildout. Very well done but much different than mine. He lives in Alaska and uses his for hard-core playing: 2 bikes, 2 kayaks, 1 paddle raft. His rig is utilitarian for his sports habits while mine is tiny “home-ish.” We spent about an hour swapping stories, looking at each others finishing touches and installations, taking photos, sending links for various favorite additions. Great fun & a new friend.
I lingered a bit longer with a glass of wine before meandering down the winding road again. On the drive you cross over the headwaters of the Little Su, a rushing cold river cascading over a shallow rock-strewn thoroughfare where only the hard-core paddlers dare to go. Out on the rocks were 4 beautiful young ladies having their picture taken. It looked like they were in Russian Orthodox ceremonial type dresses that shimmered with the water. A nice interlude.
The next day I took advantage of the sun again and drove down Turnagain Arm to the Bird to Gird trail. It’s the old tarmac road that was turned into a nice wide trail for biking and hiking. It goes high with stunning views of water and mountains. Turnagain Arm is one of the top scenic highways in America with 3000’ mountains of Chugach State Park on one side and the water on the other.
I reluctantly let go of summer and the long lingering daylight to embrace fall. But now I’m reluctantly saying good-bye to fall and the state before winter descends. I’ll be hopefully driving out through Canada next week and not to return until after covid-19 is under control and the Canadian border reopens.
