Quite the Lifestyle

On any trip you come across hidden gems along the way. We've noticed the RV'ERS   to head to the RV park's that cater specifically to their needs - power hookups, showers, and the ability to step out your door and shake the hand of the RV'ER  next to you. Sophie and I have gone a different route and have found the Alaska State Parks and campgrounds to be generally great places to stay, we must be on to something because we see more Alaska  plates than from out of state, locals always know the best places and we follow their lead heading to a commercial campground only as a last resort.

The other night saw us heading north out of the Denali area. Crossing the bridge over the Nenana river we noticed to our right a nice log giftshop with beautiful flowers and all sorts of nice items to be seen. Turning in we noticed that it was also a campground so we thought we'd check it out.

The Tatlanika campground turned out to be one of those unexpected gems. For $15, about half what the RV park's are charging this year, we had a quiet, clean, and spacious site with a nice river view and they also had warm showers, free Wi-Fi, and power at our campsite so we could charge our electronics. We saw the owner out front mowing grass ("in between rain storms") and found out  he's kept the business running after losing his wife with the hope of someday turning it over to one of his daughters. He's a retired airframe and power plant  (aircraft) mechanic who still flies his own plane from the grass strip next to where RV'S  park for the night. As we do with most Alaskans we chat with we asked "how 'bout those winters?" And like many we speak to he heads south to warmer climates. In his case winter, which is October through April for him, finds him in Belize. In his words, after 50+ winters of dark and cold, "the sun and water ain't  bad."

Out front he had a spectacular garden going. Apparently he's letting some friends who are "living off the grid" do some organic farming. They must be pretty good at it as they have students come up to learn organic farming techniques from them. They sell the produce to the hotels and restaurants serving the crowds in Denali and apparently do well enough that they spend their winters on their sailboat down in Florida.

Inside the gift shop he has a huge Polar bear mounted. It drives home how large Polar bears can be. The mount was a gift from a friend he met while attending airframe and power plant training. He described this friend as appearing to not having two nickels to rub together yet had a beautiful log home full of mounted animals he had hunted around  the world. Turns out his friend had made his fortune in oil and owned lots of 7-11's on the east coast. When leaving Alaska one year he offered up the polar bear on the condition that it came with all the other mounts to the point where the new owner had to build a special building to hold them all.

Outside there were mounted more Moose racks than we could count. The campground  owner had bagged them all over the years. He professed that Moose meat is very delicious and that one full grown Moose can provide for three families. One of the folks I worked with, Todd, is a big hunter and he would be in heaven in Alaska. I know that Todd eats what he hunts and many Alaskans  bank on getting at least one Moose or Caribou  to provide much, if not all of their red meat. The other staple of course is fish and for those in interior Alaska that usually means salmon.

As I mentioned, the owner was also a pilot. Next to his plane were floats that could be fitted to convert to a floatplane. I wondered how they got the floats on the plane and he explained it was about a half day job that entailed trucking the floats to a company that had a 'gin pole' next to a river. He'd fly down and land on their grass strip, they'd lift the plane, switch out the tires for the floats, and the now float plane would be lowered into the adjacent river. He made it all seem very easy. More than 1 in 4 Alaskans has a pilot's license so I guess they get a lot of practice!

All in all, quite a lifestyle and it's hard not to be envious. And next winter? Maybe I need to check out Belize...