The Alaska National Parks are parks of great beauty. They are ten in number and spread over an area of 1,Layer 100 miles across the total land area of the state. They include such wonders as volcanoes, alpine forests, open plains, river valleys, mountain summits and glaciers. Alaska is every bit as beautiful as any place you will find anywhere in the world.
They are also the home to some of the most magnificent natural wonders and wonders on earth. Some of the most eye catching are Mount McKinley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lake Clark, Great Bear Wilderness, Mt. McKinley Alaska, Deception Pass andJoshua Glacier. This is just a small sampling of all the parks in Alaska. There are hundreds of other parks all around the state. Many of them are still little known and not as well known as they should be. As I travel within the western states I have been amazed at the variety of parks available. There are parks in my backyard! Some of them I have never even visited! parks such asBears Ears Parkinorage, Dawson City and Fairbanks. To me Bears Ears park is one of the most beautiful places on earth! Ever since my friend Barb Whengan and I were younger we had our hearts set on a specific park in Alaska that we both absolutely loved. Well, here is the surprise. There actually are quite a few. When we set off from Pennsylvania State Park on a trip I was sure we would not find anywhere as beautiful as the ones we were headed to. Well, the surprises began right from the start. There were bears everywhere! That is, the very first place we stopped to look for trash. The trash bags were so heavy! Keeping an eye on the trash behind us, we continued on. After a mile or so behind the trash bags we saw a sign pointing to a road that went to the top of a mountain. Well, this was it. We were living! The top of the mountain was clearly visible from the road. So, we pulled into the top of the road. Having arrived at the top of the road, the well-known road to Binoculars Country, we parked the car and started to explore.
It was love at first sight! The first thing we spotted was a black bear, lounging on the road. There were berries scattered liberally throughout the road and he appeared to be sleeping. Soon, of course, we started to leave the road and head into the woods. While still in the car I turned around to see a second black bear. This one was also sleeping. I turned back to see the second bear sleeping. Yet, the first bear wasdykered and asleep – he was just eating time! We continued on through the woods and soon arrived at our stop sign. I turned around wondering where the passengers would take us. The answer was right before my eyes. The passengers came out of the car and walked down the road towards the middle of the road. We soon saw a farm Unfortunately, we did not think about picking berries from the farm. We continued down the road and soon arrived at a Park Information Center. The Information Center had a couple of tables and a boarded box where we could park.
We walked into the Park Information Center and the liked it very much. The knowledgeable employee took us inside some of the buildings. It was a rainy, but already sunny day. We walked around a little and took some more pictures. He showed us a couple of different ponds and showed us a couple of geysers. Of course, the eruptions caused the water to spray everywhere a couple of minutes later.
After about an hour or so we arrived at the State Park. We went straight to the main office, not knowing much about what awaited us. We were soon introduced to the park ranger who helped us choose a place in the park to celebrate our arriving.
After about an hour he turned to us and asked us what kind of food we wanted to bring. I can safely say we were totally taken aback. He then went on to tell us about the kind of berries that grow in the forest. We were told that we could pick any berries that we wanted. Of course, we picked the ones that were blue. They were obviously blueberries. The next trip we made to the forest we kept asking the ranger for more information. Finally he gave us a menu. It included meat (preferably deer) and vegetables. It also described the different spices that were added. It was fascinating. It told us how the different berries tasted. They were delicious fresh berries.
We kept going up into the mountains and then to the lake. From the lake you could see the whole area around the lake, the small towns in the mountains, and the beautiful scenery. We went all the way back to the parking lot where we had started.
