Late Night ATVing

So although I don't think I can ever get used to it, Alaskans have definitely learned to make the best of the fact that it never gets dark up here in the summer. On Sunday night I went on an ATV tour that started at 11pm and went until 2am. It was a blast and I would recomend it to anyone visiting this area.

We left around 11, and got on a shuttle that took us to the town of Healy where the ATV tours leave from. (We drove right by a golf course that prides themselves on their "midnight golfing.) The ATV tour was veeery entertaining to say the least. It seems that one thing after another went wrong, but everyone's attitudes on the tour were so great that it bonded the group more than anything.

We started riding as the sun was setting (it was closer to midnight at this point) so the sky was pink and beautiful. After a few technical difficulties and one person running her ATV off the trail and into some bushes we finally made it to our first break spot. It was a gorgeous view. Our guides gave us hot chocolate and snacks at this part so we hung out there for a while and soaked it all in. Once we'd been there about 10 minutes though, te mosquitoes started becoming very attracted to us so we stayed a few more minutes before hopping back on the ATVs and riding some more.

We had one more break spot at a pretty lookout area then we headed back. On our way back we passed some people riding their horses (why not take your horses out for a ride at 2am??) Then, before we got all the way back we also saw a moose! This was really cool, so we stopped and stared at it for a while.

Overall, ATVing was a blast. I know I'm a big supporter of biking and not driving cars if I don't have to....but man ATVing was fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Just an interesting fact about ATVing in Denali, ATVing is actually not allowed in any National Parks- makes sense since it messes up whatever is in its path and the parks are all about preserving as much as possible. So we didn't actually ride in the park. If you look at the map here of the park in the top right hand part of the park there's a panhandle and then an area underneath it that isn't the national park. This are is where we did the ATVing. This is also the same area where the guy died from the book/movie "Into the Wild." There is actually another ATV tour that takes you to the bus where he died- if I can I'd love to do that one too.

Anyways, that's all the fun stuff I have to report. I've been working a lot and today is actually "my friday"- as so many people say here. I've got the next two days off so hopefully I'll do some exciting things in those two days and have more to share with you (and if no one is reading this then that is directed to the hypothetical you...or the me in the future when I'm old and can't remember what I did this summer).


Here are some pictures to share:

This one is the view from the chalet area, right near the employee housing. (This was taken at about 11pm)




This one's a cool view looking back/down while hiking the Sugar Loaf mountain. That cluster of red roofs is the chalet area- where there are a bunch of hotels and shops (that's also where we started). Employee housing is in there too. The river just behind that is where the rafting is done.

This is a picture of me hiking down the sugar loaf trail. We had to get all the way back down to where the river is in the picture.