Mailboxes, Moose and Mushrooms

Chena Hot Springs is at the end of a 60 mile rural road north of Fairbanks.  We drove out there and camped for two nights.  Everyone's mailbox seems to be on the main road, even if they live on one of the many side roads. We figured this is because only the main road is plowed in the winter and the mail carrier can only deliver to the mailboxes on the main road. Imagine getting your mail on a snowy day at 60 below. I guess they have to get there by snowshoes, skis, or snowmobiles.   I think they will have a long journey to get their mail.  The driveways were very long and winding and you could not see the houses. 

Life is different up here!!

　

　

　
You see moose on the side of the road when driving out to Chena Hot Springs. We saw two moose cows and their calves on the way to the resort and one moose cow on the way back.  We never saw a bull moose on the side of the road. They just seem to us more aloof and majestic and not inclined to feed with the masses. Who knows. Anyway, we drove the road very carefully and cautiously and watched for the female moose because we didn't want one of these huge animals to end up as Roadkill and get in the Roadkill Lottery!

This cow moose was eating leaves on the side of the road. She ran to hide behind this branch when we stopped the car. Maybe she thought we could not see her.

We went to a ranger talk at Denali National Park on Moose.  The ranger told us that in the Fall when the Rut occurs, only one Bull Moose "wins" the harem of cow moose, leaving lots of younger frustrated bulls.  There is lots of fighting leading up to this.  The bull moose attack each other with their huge antlers.   At the Visitor's Center, we saw the antlers of 2 bull moose which had gotten tangled up and stuck together when they were fighting.  They could not free themselves and they died and later someone found the skeletons with the antlers still stuck together.  Predators (wolves, bears, coyotes, and smaller mammals and birds) had done their jobs on the flesh. 

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On a totally unrelated note: We saw this unusual mushroom when we stopped for the night at a campground south of Fairbanks. Very pretty with its flower-like center. I have no idea what it is, and we certainly don't want to try eating it. My brother and his wife, Paul and Jeannine, are much more knowledgeable about gathering and eating wild mushrooms. We'll stick to the ones that they give us.