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| Going somewhere? Let's go the wrong way! |
There is no short route from Denali National Park to Homer. As the crow flies, it isn't terribly far but by virtue of various impassable things like mountains and Turnagain Arm, there is no real direct route. That said, I'm also not taking the shortest route there. Denali Highway is regarded as one of the better drives on offer on the planet and it only takes me 130 miles in the wrong direction. Being mostly gravel, progress is already somewhat inhibited but throw in a desire to pull over to take photos a lot, the countdown from 130 to 1 is slow going. For the most part, the potholes' bark is worse than their bite. This knowledge engenders less cautious avoidance over a period of time by which point I eventually misjudge one, plow heavily into it and start avoiding them like the plague again.
I'm not always a fast learner.
Sometime before departing Australia my frenemy Cam told me of a playlist he has on Spotify, "100 songs I like right now". Now, I don't really like his music very much so I elected to create my own. His rules are simple; one song by one artist. No double ups. My take on this goes one further; no skipping. Loosely adhered to is the suggestion of "not that band's biggest song" but it's kind of hard to sincerely suggest Pulp did anything of note other than "Common People". It's a playlist that's in flux. Hearing Jimmy Barnes' cover of "The Weight" is not something I need to happen too often so it met the chopping block pretty quickly.
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| Pleasurable enough without a Jimmy Barnes cover. |
The drive itself is brilliant. Travelling along strike of the Alaska Range there are perpetual mountain views. The foreground shifts from alpine forest to tundra, then lakes and rivers. It's scarcely populated, there are a pair of rest stops and a few lodges along the way but save for a peculiar and large hunting party, I crossed bumpers with no one. There's something truly bizarre about fifteen trucks covered in camouflage, manned by men in more camouflage and high powered rifles just... lying about. I suppose they were trying to hide their trucks from moose UAV flyovers or something. With all that effort concealing the sight of themselves, I'm surprised they didn't leave the diesel generators at home to match their inconspicuous sight with a more forest-like sound track but I'm altogether pretty new to the hunting malarkey.
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| Safe to say, our shooting interests are probably divergent. |
At just the moment that I had destroyed my voice singing along to all two minutes of "Fucken Awesome" I realised a growing need for food - it was 8pm - and like some sort of black magic Maclaren Lodge (set in the footprint of Maclaren Glacier) appears. Salmon and beers ordered through a husky, broken voice, time seemed to freeze. It was just as light when I got back on the road - a bit before eleven - so driving continued unabated. This elongated twilight is good for getting miles under the belt or outrageously beautiful photographs - typically not both - so I didn't get too far before locating a gravel pit off the road on the Richardson Highway to sleep in for the night.
I'm a simple man.
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| A never ending sunset was well used. |
For those interested in critiquing/viewing/sampling my taste in music for this exercise, read on.
| Name |
Artist |
Album |
| Dream On |
Aerosmith |
Aerosmith's Greatest Hits |
| Poison |
Alice Cooper |
The Definitive Alice Cooper |
| She Keeps No Secrets |
The Angels |
|
| House Of The Rising Sun |
The Animals |
Forty Shots Of Rock |
| Roam |
The B-52's |
The B-52's |
| Bad Company |
Bad Company |
Bad Company |
| Good Vibrations |
The Beach Boys |
Sounds Of Summer |
| Spicks & Specks |
Bee Gees |
Their Greatest Hits: The Record |
| Rebel Yell |
Billy Idol |
Idol Songs: 11 of the Best |
| Love Burns |
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club |
B.R.M.C. |
| Harley & Rose |
The Black Sorrows |
Harley & Rose |
| Godzilla |
Blue Öyster Cult |
The Best of Blue Öyster Cult |
| Roll Me Away |
Bob Seger |
Greatest Hits |
| Streets Of Philadelphia |
Bruce Springsteen |
Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen) |
| I Will Survive |
Cake |
Fashion Nugget |
| Let's Go |
The Cars |
Complete Greatest Hits |
| Reptile |
The Church |
Starfish |
| I Fought the Law |
The Clash |
The Singles (Clash) |
| Bow River |
Cold Chisel |
Radio Songs |
| G.O.D. |
Coloured Balls |
Ball Power |
| White Room |
Cream |
Strange Brew - The Very Best of Cream |
| Who'll Stop The Rain |
Creedence Clearwater Revival |
Chronicle, Vol. 1 |
| Boys Don't Cry |
The Cure |
Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985 |
| Mistreated (Live) |
Deep Purple |
The Compact Disc Anthology (Disc Two) (Disc 1) |
| Pour Some Sugar On Me |
Def Leppard |
Best Of (Def Leppard) |
| Telegraph Road |
Dire Straits |
Love over Gold |
| Bare Necessities |
Disney |
Classic Disney, Vol. 2 |
| Listen To The Music |
The Doobie Brothers |
Listen To The Music: The Very Best Of The Doobie Brothers |
| Light My Fire |
The Doors |
The Doors |
| Tales Of Brave Ulysses |
Eric Clapton |
Backtrackin' [Disc 1] |
| Sweet Dreams |
Eurythmics |
Eurythmics Greatest Hits |
| Weapon Of Choice (with Bootsy
Collins) (Attack Hamster Edit) |
Fatboy Slim |
The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder |
| Suspicious Minds |
Fine Young Cannibals |
80's Best Of The Best |
| Dreams |
Fleetwood Mac |
Greatest Hits - Fleetwood Mac |
| Slow Ride |
Foghat |
Dazed And Confused |
| Come Fly With Me (Live) |
Frank Sinatra |
Live At The Sands (with Count Basie & The Orchestra) |
| Pasisienne Walkways (Live) |
Gary Moore |
The Best Air Guitar Album in the World... Ever! - Volume 2 |
| Wayne Gretzky |
Goldfinger |
Open Your Eyes |
| Civil War |
Guns 'n' Roses |
The Best Of Gun's 'n' Roses |
| A Thousand Miles Away |
Hoodoo Gurus |
Ampology |
| Back in the Hole |
Hunters & Collectors |
Natural Selection [Bonus Tracks] Disc 1 |
| Tucker's Daughter |
Ian Moss |
Matchbook |
| Mystify |
INXS |
The Years 1979-1997 Disc 1 |
| Leaving Home |
Jebediah |
Triple J Hottest 100 Vol. 05 |
| Little Wing |
Jimi Hendrix |
Live at Royal Albert Hall |
| I Love Rock and Roll |
Joan Jett |
I Love Rock N' Roll [Bonus Tracks] |
| Satch Boogie |
Joe Satriani |
Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology |
| Love Will Tear Us Apart (Live) |
Joy Division |
The Complete BBC Recordings |
| Highway To The Danger Zone |
Kenny Loggins |
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: The Greatest Hits |
| God of Thunder |
Kiss |
Double Platinum |
| Babe I'm Gonna Leave You |
Led Zeppelin |
Led Zeppelin |
| Are You Gonna Go My Way |
Lenny Kravitz |
Greatest Hits |
| Roll On |
The Living End |
From Here On In |
| Free Bird |
Lynyrd Skynyrd |
Gold & Platinum (Disc 1) |
| Nothing Else Matters |
Metallica |
Black Album |
| Blue Sky Mine |
Midnight Oil |
20,000 Watts R.S.L.: Greatest Hits |
| Knights Of Cydonia |
Muse |
H.A.A.R.P [Live] |
| Sunday Morning |
No Doubt |
Best of: No Doubt |
| Married With Children |
Oasis |
Definately Maybe |
| Sleeps Like A Curse |
The Panics |
Sleeps Like A Curse |
| All Fired Up |
Pat Benatar |
16 Classic Performances |
| The Boy In The Bubble |
Paul Simon |
Graceland |
| Alive [Brendan O'Brien Remix] |
Pearl Jam |
Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003 Disc 1 |
| Another Day In Paradise |
Phil Collins |
...Hits |
| Comfortably Numb |
Pink Floyd |
Triple J Hottest 100 Of All-Time |
| Every Me And Every You |
Placebo |
Comedy |
| My Kind Of Scene |
Powderfinger |
Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, Vol. 1 |
| Lump |
Presidents Of The United States of America |
The Presidents of the United States of America |
| Breathe |
The Prodigy |
The Fat Of The Land |
| Common People |
Pulp |
Triple J Hottest 100 Of All-Time |
| Don't Stop Me Now |
Queen |
Greatest Hits I |
| Nightswimming |
R.E.M. |
Automatic For The People |
| Killing In The Name |
Rage Against The Machine |
Rage Against The Machine |
| Blitzkrieg Bop |
The Ramones |
Mania |
| Ghostbusters |
Ray Parker Jr |
Ghostbusters Sndtrk |
| Californication |
Red Hot Chili Peppers |
Californication |
| Black Bugs |
Regurgitator |
Unit Re-Booted |
| Sympathy For The Devil |
The Rolling Stones |
Beggars Banquet |
| Kathy's Song |
Simon & Garfunkel |
The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel |
| Alive and Kicking |
Simple Minds |
Live in the City of Light Disc 1 |
| Bullet With Butterfly Wings |
The Smashing Pumpkins |
The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Tainted Love |
Soft Cell |
Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret |
| Fucken' Awesome |
Spiderbait |
Greatest Hits |
| Rock'n Me |
Steve Miller Band |
Young Hearts: Complete Greatest Hits |
| Russians |
Sting |
Fields Of Gold: The Best Of Sting 1984-1994 [International] |
| Skin Deep |
The Stranglers |
The Very Best Of The Strangler |
| Give A Little Bit |
Supertramp |
Even In The Quietest Moments |
| Once In A Lifetime |
Talking Heads |
Seven Talking Heads Tracks |
| Stranglehold |
Ted Nugent |
Dazed And Confused |
| Cowboy Song |
Thin Lizzy |
Live And Dangerous |
| Greg! The Stop Sign!! |
TISM |
Machiavelli and the Four Seasons |
| Learning To Fly |
Tom Petty |
Tom Petty's Greatest Hits |
| Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon |
Urge Overkill |
Stull EP |
| (Oh) Pretty Woman |
Van Halen |
The Best Of Both Worlds |
| Blister in the Sun |
Violent Femmes |
Add It Up (1981-1993) |
| One Headlight |
The Wallflowers |
Bringing Down The Horse |
| Werewolves Of London |
Warren Zevon |
A Quiet Normal Life The Best Of Warren Zevon |
| Jolene |
The White Stripes |
White Stripes Singles & B-Sides |
| Baba O'Riley |
The Who |
My Generation: The Very Best O |
| Mind's Eye |
Wolfmother |
Wolfmother |
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