The “On the Rocks” Day

Today was the Fourth of July (I know it is not for you reading this delayed blog, but stay with me here it might be needed for Moose understanding). The celebration in McCarthy is the stuff of legends and goes on until the very wee hours. Cindy and I skipped the trip back down the mountain to watch a very dusty parade. We are glad we did for the Kennicott was extremely quiet and serene. We had the street to ourselves, wonderful time walking about and photographing. Plus we had special plans for the afternoon. So after a relaxing lunch on the porch at the lodge - including super key lime pie, we headed to the St. Elias Alpine Guides for a tour of over four hours on the Root Glacier. There were only five of us on the tour. You start with a 2.4 mile walk to the glacier and once there put on the crampons you carried and the gloves you will need. Then after a brief bit on how to walk with giant prongs on your feet. Off we go. After about 15 minutes we all seem to have a rhythm and it is really fun. And different. The glacier we are on is about 250-500 feet thick and is formed from a close by ice field, Stairway Ice Fall, the third largest in the world. We explored streams, pools, falls, small fractures, long lines in the ice that I forgot the name of already while our guide, Robert, took care to explain a lot of aspects about glaciers while trying to keep us safe. Robert also made hot chocolate for us (or tea or coffee) at our break. I could not sit still, too many things to see. We were done too soon and made the trek back to Kennicott. The walk on the glacier was remarkable and we will not forget the other-world we got to glimpse. Cindy and I were just barely in time for the 6:30 shuttle and then back down the mountain, cross the pedestrian bridge, back to the truck and back over the McCathy Highway to the RV with crackers and dried fruit for dinner. TIRED. For a change I have included only people in the photos of the glacier trip. I will post some of the others as days go along here. None can truly capture how the experience felt.

Cadillac’s Most Correct Viewpoint

Things did not go according to my well-crafted plans today. In fact not a single Moose showed up for the event. But it was a great success. Let me explain. Early in the morning I made my way down from the mountain to the boggy marsh at the edge of the river. BdB had things well prepared. (He is proving a bit useful under my careful tutelage.) I went back to the little village near the site for an extra latte (maple flavor, of course) and to wait for the crowds of Moose to arrive. You really want to make an entrance for this kind of event. Well, as I prepared to exit town to head out to the Moose Rights Rally, the whole town and hundreds more turned out to line the streets. They were cheering and waving American flags & had decorated cars, bikes and wagons. Even the fire department shinned all their trucks. It was amazing. I was overwhelmed. At the end of the street, still thronged with cheering supporters, I eased my way across the crowds and off to the bog. Not a Moose in sight. I will admit, introspection being one of my outstanding qualities, to being chagrinned. So I retreated to a nice marshy bit and contemplated the day. It turns out, at least my working theory is, that Moose don’t understand the idea of rights but the human people do. So they seem to support the idea but Moose don’t realize what they might be missing. Under that assumption my revised plan to secure Moose Rights, still the goal, is to rethink how best to do that and therefore I will take a few days or even a whole week to study human people completely, maybe explore some of the ridiculous places the Driver puts us to figure out how to advance the cause. The human people who turned out to cheer me and support Moose Rights were inspiring so I cannot give up.