Off To Denali!

 Yesterday Steve went with the guys to the Anchorage Dealer Open House.  Lucky me, I got the rental car so I could go to the Anchorage Temple.  It's a beautiful little temple and I was fortunate they had a session I could fit into our schedule.  It worked well for both of us.  I drove back to the dealers and joined Steve for the BBQ lunch.  About an hour later we were on the Park Highway headed north through the Denali State Park and Denali National Park for Fairbanks.

 Our first stop was about 20 miles off the beaten path but so worth it.  Talkeetna was an early mining and railroad town that became the starting point for climbers who wanted to make it to the top of the tallest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley, or Denali as the locals call it at over 20,000 feet.  This year is the 100th anniversary of the first successful climbers.  Now the climbers come to Talkeetna and are flown 60 miles to the Denali base camp by helicopter.

 Steve is standing in front of the place where three rivers join with Denali in the background.  It is challenging to get a good picture of it because it is usually surrounded by clouds. The town is quite quaint with galleries, gift shops, and old fashioned places to stay and eat.  I loved the flower boxes in front of almost every shop.

 These next three pictures are of the Roadhouse where locals told us to eat.  It was too early for dinner so we bought a scone and a raspberry roll from the bakery. I saw inside one of the small boarding rooms on my way to a shared restroom.  The Roadhouse had tables for eating, reading areas, desks,  and sleeping rooms, etc. 

 Our next stop was one of the few lookout points you can see the mountain because there are so many trees lining the highways.  We were pleased to get pretty clear shots of the mountain.  Many people travel hundreds of miles to see it and can't because it is cloudy or raining.  It started to rain about an hour after we took our photos.

 We had another fabulous Salmon dinner at a restaurant called Salmon Bake at a very touristy area near the entrance to Denali National Park.  It was pouring rain by then and we had to wait a bit but the food was fab!!! We didn't stop to ride the bus into the park as it would take too long and we were happy with our sightings of the mountain.  The only way you can go closer to the mountain is on that bus, by off road tours or by air.  Many tourists take trains to the park and then ride the bus to see the mountain.
We arrived at our hotel in Fairbanks about 11:30 p.m.  We were exhausted but it was still daylight.  We don't wait for dark as it doesn't come until about 1 in the morning.  And we never see the sunrise because it starts about 3:45 in the morning. All the rooms are equipped with room darkening drapes or shades.

 Steve had another open house today in Fairbanks. I drove him over and then  I stayed back at the hotel and washed laundry and took care of real estate issues--lots of roof problems this year. I came over and joined him for lunch and by then he was ready to go.  It's so nice that he isn't in charge of anything anymore.  He just helps the salesmen and answers questions.  He is very charming so all th edealers and customers like him.  He's just a good guy to have around. 

 This afternoon we drove to a lookout point for the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline.  It's an engineering marvel.

 We also went to The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center.  It was like a museum showing what life was like in early Alaskan history.  It showed a lot about the native cultures and we saw and heard some native Alaskan youth singing and dancing.  We went to a family business called The Great Alaskan Bowl Company where they make birch bowls by hand and sell other birch items.  That was fascinating to watch.  We checked out the University of Alaska campus and enjoyed the views of the valley.

 This archway is made by a local artist from over a hundred moose and caribou antlers.  Hence comes Steve's saying "Who goosed the moose or antlers in the treetops."
Once again we had a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called The Pump.  Tonight we shared grilled halibut with mango salsa and the best seafood chowder I can ever remember.  We also liked our spinach salad.  Our waitress was on an exchange program from Bulgaria.  Her English was very good and so was her German as she and Steve chatted.  Our food has really been excellent on this trip.  We are loving the seafood.

 Here is a sampling of the wildlife we have seen.  With the exception of the moose family on the first night all of our other wildlife sightings have been stuffed.  Maybe tomorrow as we drive through the mountain pass, we will see some more in their natural habitat.

 These photos were taken around the restaurant which was built on an old historical pumping station.

Working In Wasilla

 Today we drove 45 miles north of Anchorage to Wasilla, AK.  Steve had to work at a dealer open house, mingling and answering questions for local customers.  I rode up with him and met all the Case people including his boss.  Then I hung out most of the time in the conference room.  I was actually very busy working on issues with my own real estate clients.  We had lunch with the folks and then I went back to my work until Steve was finished.  After he finished up, he drove over to Lake Lucille  to see where the Palins live.  A couple of the people know the Palins and say they are very regular local folks.  The area where they live has a mix of homes from mobile homes to a lodge-like Best Western Motel on the lake just three doors away.  The end of the street to their home is chained off which I actually think is a wise idea.

 This is a picture of their home from the Best Western boat dock.  Palin's home is a very unpretentious two-story wood house you can barely see through the trees with the small seaplane in front.  It is not the white house that you can see better.  They don't live in a prestigious area. 

 The beautiful mountain view behind Steve is the view the Palins have from their home on the lake.

Wasilla is in a flat, so-called farming region. There isn't much farming but they do grow vegetables for local use. These are the gorgeous mountains we enjoyed on the way back to Anchorage.

North To Alaska!

 We arrived in Anchorage, Alaska on Sunday afternoon and decided to drive around and find a few things to see.  We ended up at a weekend market with lots of little booths displaying Alaskan made wares.  This is Grizzly's gift shop full of trinkets and souvenirs.

 We also headed to the Alaskan Bontanical Gardens and walked around examining the native plants.  The gardens were surrounded by a 10-12 foot fence with this sign below it.

 Then we went to a bridge to view the salmon swimming upstream to spawn.  We enjoyed seeing the salmon.  Later we drove out to a scenic point to see Mt. McKinley and Cook's Inlet.  The mountain was covered with clouds but we saw the huge inlet and these twin moose calves and their mother.  Up the road we saw the bull moose.  It was awesome!

 We had dinner at a local favorite restaurant Steve knew about called Gwennies.  I ordered the crab omelette because it was made with real crab.  It tasted better than it looked.  It was more food than I could eat.

 I liked the baskets of yellow and purple flowers hanging from the lamp posts in the downtown market area.

 This morning we headed south to Steward.  Our first stop was Potter Marsh.  The entire day we were surrounded by the most majestic scenery.  God has truly provided us with an amazingly beautiful world!

 This picture of Turnagain arm, water that flows from Cook's Inlet according to the tides, was taken in the morning from the car window.  In the afternoon it was just a huge field of mud as the tide had receded.  When the tide returns, a 6 foot wall of water will rush in and fill it again.  It is amazing to see!

 We had lunch at Resurrection Roadhouse across from Resurrection Bay. The salmon comes directly from Resurrection Bay.  I must say my spinach salad with salmon was heavenly.  In fact, if there is food in heaven, this will be at the top of my list.  It was scrumptious. Steve loved his salmon sandwich too.

 Then we hiked about a mile up to Exit Glacier.  We were able to get pretty close to it but couldn't leave the roped off area to actually touch it.  It is awe inspiring.

 Steward was a little harbor town with lots of campgrounds, boats, a Sea Life Center and varioustour operators.  Due to time constraints, we had an ice cream cone and headed back north so we could see a few more glaciers.  We weren't disappointed when we arrived at Portage Lake which is surrounded by and formed by glaciers.  It was gorgeous and we even saw icebergs floating in the water.

We had a gloriously beautiful day and the pictures don't begin to capture the majesty of the green mountains with shiny white, snow fields and glaciers.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day in every way. Tomorrow it's back to work for Steve as we head to Wasilla.