Bill Visits a Coal Mine

The Usibelli Coal Mine is just outside of Healy, where we live. It is the only active coal mine in Alaska. It exports coal to South Korea and Chile. The rest goes to power plants in Alaska.

One of the trucks used to move the coal from the pit to where it is shipped by train to Fairbanks, Anchorage or Seward.

Bill with a hard hat on standing next to one of the tires on the dump truck

Hard to read this but it does say Good Year, Bob.

One of the veins of coal along the edge of the road. All the dirt above the coal has to be moved out of the way so they can get to the coal.

The crane and bucket used to move the dirt out of the way so the coal can be trucked out. Regular sized  backhoes are used to load the coal onto the big dump trucks.

The main boom on the crane is as long as a football field. They pick dirt up on the left and move it over to the piles on the right.

Another view of the seam of coal along the side of the road

A model of the big crane and bucket.

The original tractor used when the mine first opened in 1943. It still runs!

Flowers at Princess Denali Lodge

A headless Ryan (on the left) and his two dogs.

Daisies and Fireweed on a hillside.

Head groundskeeper Ryan keeps these looking good. This is only a small percentage of the hanging plants...there are hundreds!

Denali Landscape

Part of the road with a river bed below. It is a long way down

A few thousand years ago, this big rock was deposited out in the middle of nowhere by a glacier. Known as a Glacial Eccentric.

What other sites are out there at the end of the road?

Denali, the Mountain, is hiding behind those clouds.

Another view of the edge of the road

One of the rivers in the Park.

A Miscellany of Animal Pictures

My little camera does not zoom very well. Also many of these were taken out the window of a bus. But, here are some animals of Denali:

A Snowshoe Hare. See it's big white rear feet. In the winter it changes colors to all white.

A Moose hiding behind a bush. See the little moose to the left. All together there are two Meese, right Katie?

A Caribou hiding behind a small bush. It stood like this for about ten minutes.

A bear from a long way off.

The South end of a North-bound Caribou.