This national park is kind of out of the way if based in Phoenix or Tucson, being a driving distance of 3.25hrs and 4.5hrs respectively. In my opinion, it is worth the drive.
This national forest gets its name from the fossils that are prevalent in this part of Arizona and can be found in only a few other areas in the United States (Washington, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas). More specifically, the name refers to petrified wood. As best as I can understand it, plant material somehow gets buried by sediment and then, some years later (I don’t know how long, I’m not a scientist!) water rushes through it and replaces it with minerals and inorganic matter, leaving behind the fossil we call petrified wood.
What’s even crazier than me trying to explain how petrified wood is made is how much it looks like actual wood! I went into this experience knowing nothing about petrified wood and, at first, I thought it was just a bunch of big tree trunks that everyone was cooing at. I didn’t even bat an eye because, well, it’s Arizona, maybe they’ve never seen big trees that aren’t trying to stab them before.
And then it happened. The light hit just right and the damn thing sparkled. They ask you not to touch, and especially not to take, so I did my best to get as close as possible and snap photo after photo to get a really good look at it’s surface. It’s not wood at all! That wood’s gon’. It’s just sparkly rock stuff.
If that’s not enough to knock your socks off, the views all around this national park are breath-taking. One disadvantage to the park is that it is primarily a driving park– meaning, to get from one vista to another you should drive. This seems to be a theme for Arizona’s national parks. But there’s a new, beautiful vista what feels like every 5 minutes or so and it is nearly impossible not to stop and get out and take photos and bask in the view. I was sure my adventure friend was going to kill me!
If interested in purchasing some legally obtained pieces of petrified wood, there are plenty of stores around and a few national park gift shops to peruse. And for a cool $1500 you could buy a whole tree trunk, if you felt so inclined. I made due with a super cute coaster!
Highlights included Petrified Forest Scenic Drive, Blue Mesa Trail, Puerco Pueblo Trail, and Giant Logs Trail. We started at the Painted Desert Visitor Center and worked our way down!
Along the Scenic Drive
Along the Scenic Drive
Along the Scenic Drive
Along the Scenic Drive
Along the Scenic Drive– those lumps are petrified logs!
Living in Anchorage
was so bittersweet. A wide and sprawled out city with a Radio Shack and a JC
Penney Furniture store– I was skeptical to say the least. It is also no secret
that Alaska is prone to homelessness, alcoholism, and depression, especially among
the arguably forgotten native population. The disparity between natives and
non-natives is apparent from first glance if one cares to look for it. Filled,
as a general statement, with hipsters who enjoy extreme outdoor activities,
Baby Boomers and Generation Xers with money to spend, fisherman and oil-riggers
hoping to strike it rich, military personnel, and Hawaiians and American
Samoans escaping the high cost of living and low employment rates of their home
towns, Anchorage is, if nothing else, diverse. Yet, Anchorage has managed to
keep some of it’s secluded and small-town appeal.
The best part about
Anchorage, though, is undoubtedly it’s location. Literally the
“anchor” for the rest of the state, one can reach anywhere else in
the state from here by either car or plane. That said, it’s no small price to
reach these other places. Though Palmer, Seward, Homer, Fairbanks, and the like
can be reached via vehicle ranging from 45min to 6hrs, hot spots like Katmai
National Park, Lake Clark National Park, Nome, or the two northern national
parks are only accessible via bush planes averaging $400-700 for the roundtrip
ticket alone. Living in Anchorage isn’t cheap either. With most items shipped
in from the “The Lower 48”, costs for food, drink, and grocery
reflect as much. I will admit, though, that being a largely organic shopper,
the items sold in Fred Meyers were comparable– everything except for hummus,
hummus is oddly expensive!
My top reason for
striving for a travel position in Alaska was to visit the above mentioned
national parks. Hitting 6 of the 8 as well as exploring as many other towns and
corners as I could, I was not disappointed. Everywhere I went in Alaska was not
only beautiful but also unique. Homer is nothing like Seward, which is nothing
like Palmer or Talkeetna, or Brooks Falls. I simply couldn’t get enough. I only
quit traveling because I couldn’t afford another trip and buy my plane ticket
back home! Okay, that might be dramatizing it a little, but that is mostly
true. Whether I was in the water next to dolphins, orcas, and puffins in Homer
or picking berries on the side of the road in Hatchers Pass, my heart was
filled with pure bliss and gratitude at the opportunity. The sun can often
create a dryness that makes the area prone to wildfires, and this did affect
some ability to travel and enjoy, but not by much.
Speaking of sun, the
most infamous characteristic of Alaska is it’s sun, or lack thereof, depending
on the season. Spending the summer in Alaska from May to September was
incredible. There was snow on the mountains when I arrived, no snow by June,
browning fireweed by August, and hints of snow and darker days around the
corner when I left. To go through all four seasons in just 5 months is unheard
of for most people around the world. And my favorite part was driving along the
highway multiple times throughout my time there and seeing the changes
happening before my eyes. If one travels north enough, it is true that the sun
can be seen high in the sky at midnight and even days of 24hrs of sun occur.
This is only in the summer, though. Fall, Winter, and Spring have the opposite
affect and, though it can be equally cold or icy at various times of the year
in places like Western NY and Pennsylvania, it can also be dark for 20-24hrs at
a time as well. Hence the struggle with depression and alcoholism– sometimes
due to mental instability and sometimes due to plain boredom.
All of this said, would I recommend Anchorage as a place to live? Absolutely. But not if you have family in the Lower 48 that you want to visit or whom you want to visit you. Because that flight– or should I say three– is not easy. Not the way they herd us along and squeeze us in like cattle. Lol. Unless you can afford first-class– then by all means, lay back and enjoy the ride to one of the most majestic places I’ve every visited!
Easily one of the most peaceful trips in Alaska thus far. There is so much to see in Lake Clark– Port Alsworth, Iliamna Volcano, Dick Proenneke’s Cabin on Twin Lakes. But, of course, they are all separate from each other and require access by plane. So I decided to stick to Port Alsworth, the main hub for the national parks service, and soak up all that I could during my last solo excursion in Alaska.
I flew to Port Alsworth with Lake and Penninsula Air (LPA) for $500 roundtrip plus $0.92/pound excess weight over 50lbs. The only thing to keep in mind is that there will likely be passengers going to other areas of the park so the plane will likely make multiple stops to other villages prior to Port Alsworth. The front desk can tell you if the flight will be direct or not. Also, of course, weather will determine how fast the plane will go, if it will go at all.
Once on the ground, I was greeted by the hostess of the private campground with whom I chose to camp. Beth of Tulchina Adventures is quiet and sweet. She drove me and my backpacks to my “glamping” hut and gave me the lay of the land. With rain in the forecast for the next few days I was so happy to not have to set up on wet grass amidst a curtain of the mosquitos. “Glamping”, in this case, meant a room on a raised wooden platform large enough in which to set up your tent as well as house the provided camping chairs and table. A few shelves in one corner were plenty for keeping cooking items and toiletries. A bear can was provided to store food and a place to sit and enjoy a fire was just a few feet from the hut. It was cozy and dry and just the extra splurge I was looking for. She charges $50/night to glamp and $25 for tent only. There is a very well-kept outhouse that is shared among the three huts and there is filtered water and firewood at our disposal.
Lake Clark near Tulchina
Lake Clark near Tulchina
Since it wasn’t raining as predicted and the sun was actually out and the peak of the Tanalian Mountain was in full view, I decided to do all of the Tanalian Trails including the falls, the Kontrashibuna Lake, and the mountain on the first day I landed. This was no small feat. Motivated by the fact that I wasn’t sure if weather would grant me another opportunity, I hiked from roughly 12:30 to 6:30pm to get ‘er done.
The falls are unheard of. I’ve never seen a falls that small yet that forceful! And when the forest opens up at the Lower Falls it is nothing short of magical. The green-blue color of the water, the island-feel of the cliff across, and the deafening roar of the falls. It had a Gull Island feel from way back when I visited Homer. It was breathtaking. That part of the trek was roughly 1.5hr from the campground with crossing from the far end of the airstrip to the trailhead itself taking about 30min.
Continuing another 30min from the falls, I landed at the obvious ending of the Tanalian Trail at Kontrashibuna Lake. So peaceful. So blue. If one wanted, I suspect the trail continues as a brush path all the way around the lake. A great spot for a picnic or a fire.
Tanalian Mountain along the way
Heading back toward town, I looked up at the mountain, taunting me, and decided that I’d better have a go at it. When the trail split off between continuing back toward town and venturing right to the mountain, I turned right. I made it a bit past the steel pipe surrounded by rocks located along the ridge before being forced to turn back. At roughly 1.5hr in, locals told me I had only about 30 to the summit. Unfortunately, I was well into clouds at that point and couldn’t see more than 10ft in front of me. What really sealed the deal was when I accidentally snuck up on a momma sheep and her calf. I stopped to take a photo (duh), which I don’t think she liked, because suddenly she was running toward me. I then realized that, to my right, a male sheep– you know, the ones with horns!– was running in my direction but at a slightly upward angle. I couldn’t tell if I was witnessing a happy reunion between mom and pop or if the family was coming for me. So I decided that I had done my part. I was floored over and over again by the view along the way. I had some amazing photos to take home. I was winning. Why push my luck? I was also told that it was good I had turned around because the trail is easy to lose the further up you go, especially when in the cloud, and it gets very narrow near the top, so, best I not fall off!
A steep incline
Overgrown trail
Mountain goat in the cloud!
Tanalian Falls from up above!
The view from the pipeline
My feet were hurting so bad as I made my way down the mountain and back to Tulchina– an hour down the mountain and another 1.5hrs from the mountain to the campground. I was literally moaning outloud with each step. When I finally got back to my hut and was ready for bed at roughly 7:30pm, I attempted to journal– I was nodding off in between words! So I listened to my body and woke up with no alarm at 11am the next day. Smh– having gone directly from an evening shift to the airport and getting only a few naps on the flight in, I obviously needed it.
The next few days were relatively uneventful and that made it that much better. I attempted to kayak but only lasted an hour on the water as I was having a great attack the entire time that I might capsize. With so many boats and float planes coming and going and having little to no experience with wakes and it having finally rained overnight, I was beyond myself. I know my limits!
So I filled my free time finishing Pete Holmes’ “Comedy Sex God”, listening to Dan Harris podcast episodes, reading my Dharma books, meditating, and doing yoga. I hung out at the lake, bought coffee at the Cranberry Cache, and chatted frequently with the super nice ranger at the visitor center. I watched the planes come and go at the harbor. I relished in the fact that I had nowhere to be, that there was nothing on the calendar, and that nothing was expected of me. I could just be with amazing mountains in my foreground and the greenest-bluest lake at my feet.
Kayaking adventure
One of the few side roads in town
NPS
Cranberry Cache
Port Alsworth harbor at the Lake Air airstrip
Tanalian Mountain from town
The flight between Anchorage and Port Alsworth, if direct, is about 1hr. And it is a spectacular one hour. Like getting a free sightseeing tour, the plane ventures over the Aleutian Mountain Range, passing over glacier after glacier, Mt. Redoubt, and the Gulf of Alaska. The trip was worth it for this alone. Alaska is a spectacular state with so much unknown to Lower 48ers like myself. What a privilege it was to explore so much of it. And with still a few more places to see, I know it will fall short of nothing less than #blessings.
