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.