Alaska -- Day Four -- Talkeetna

I woke up around 4 am and peeked out the window. The sunrise in the other direction made for a beautiful hue on the mountains outside my window. (I snapped a picture).

We headed to Talkeetna today. We arrived in time for a delicious meal at the Roadhouse restaurant. They are known for their sourdough hot cakes that are so large they exceed the plate and touch the tabletop. (Somehow that didn't sound very appetizing to me). We wandered around the quaint tourist town. Bryan discovered that the raven is a symbol of rebirth for native people of Alaska. I am rethinking the whole Noah's Ark story based on that new information. (Bryan is sure it will end up in a sermon in the near future).

After lunch and a stroll we headed to K2 Aviation for a flightsee to Mt. McKinley. (While we waited for our flight four men returned from a successful trip to the summit. They were so proud!)

We boarded a 10 passenger twin engine plane. I am a fearful flyer but this whole adventure was my idea. I was not the slightest bit afraid until we were in the air headed for the mountain range. We could see the rain headed our way and I began to wonder what would happen if our pilot suddenly had a heart attack. I knew the tourist sitting next to the pilot wasn't going to save my life. Then I thought, "Oh well, I left the house clean; my children know where to locate important papers; there is nothing I can do now; and I won't have to live without Bryan." I relaxed and enjoyed a spectacular flight. Heavy clouds rolled in while we were flying toward the mountain and so we did not see Mt. McKinley. It did not matter because it was fabulous anyway. It was hard to capture it with a camera because everything was so white it is hard to see the definition. We flew over Ruth Glacier. I was amazed by the tunnel in the glacier. The pilot said the ice was 4,000 feet deep and there was 5,000 feet of mountain above the ice. He said if the ice ever melted it would be deeper than the Grand Canyon. As we headed back to the airfield the rain hit us. The landing was a bit bumpy and we deboarded in the rain.

We are staying in Talkeetna tonight in a lodge with a spectacular view of the mountain range. We took a mile hike around the hillside. Written signs and piles of dung warned us of moose in the area. We were told to be sure to make plenty of noise so that we did not encounter one. When we got back to the lodge we looked up facts on moose and learned that they weigh 1800 pounds. I don't think I would want to run into one while I am on foot.

Tomorrow we head to Seward.

Alaska -- Day 3 -- Denali

As we were in our hotel room today getting ready for our 8 hour bus tour of Denali National Park the phone rang. It was the front desk, informing us that a bus had been waiting for 1/2 hour for us to show up for our 6:30 am bus tour. When I explained that I had a ticket for 8 am in my hand she apologized. I was worried that it would be an omen for our day. But it was a perfect day. We are part of the 30% club of people who actually come to Denali on a day that Mount McKinley shows her face. It was a cool, windy day and so the animals were out. We saw three grizzly bears, dozens of Dall sheep and caribou, Harlequin ducks, four moose and one calf and a snowshoe hare. It is amazing how exhausting it is to ride in a bus all day!
Tomorrow, weather permitting, we hope to go on a plane ride around Mount McKinley.

Alaska -- Day 2 -- Driving North

We had tea this morning with Bryan's sister and then headed for Denali. Bryan's family had warned us that we might have a hard time finding food along the road. I have the Alaska Milepost book and it mentioned a little restaurant off the road in Willow. It was a little hole in the wall. There was a handwritten sign on the wall that said: "I'll take my guns, my money and my God. You can keep the change." I thought, "I'm not in Southern California anymore."

The trip took about 5 hours and was filled with lots of oohs and aahs. The scenery was so amazing. We have a rental car and so we stopped repeatedly to take pictures and try to see Mt. McKinley/Denali...which never peaked above the clouds.

We arrived at our hotel only to learn that the renovations they were making were not finished and we had been "upgraded" to the Grand Denali Lodge. I was skeptical but the room is nice and the view is breathtaking. Tomorrow we take the 8 hour Tundra Wilderness bus tour into Denali.

Alaska -- Day One -- Family

We left for Alaska last night. We arrived this morning around 2 a.m. It is a long way to Alaska! We took a shuttle to the motel. It was the middle of the night but it was not completely dark. Our room leaves a lot to be desired but it is an inexpensive place to sleep.We got up at 8 am so that we could meet Bryan's sister, Sandra, who is in Anchorage visiting her daughter's family. We went for a brief stroll to see some of the beauty...
...then had a delicious breakfast at Snow City Cafe, voted best breakfast restaurant in Anchorage.

We spent the afternoon on the deck at Bryan's niece's house. Another of Bryan's nieces is also visiting Anchorage right now. She and her family joined the gathering. There were eleven Boyers in one location...a fairly unusual event.

Tomorrow we head for Denali.