We saw Denali and Sheep Mountain
Days 9 & 10
8.24.15
We are back in Anchorage at the Comfort Inn on Ship Creek Rd. Our hotel is right across from the railway station that we will be using tomorrow. What a fabulous two days. The terrain was very different since now we are moving inland with no seas in sight. But wow, did we ever see the mountains. We had started our morning by going to a preserve that took injured or orphaned animals in for protection and healing. We all enjoyed this adventure.
Sheep Mountain Lodge was located in a remote area with no cell service, TVs, and very limited Internet access. Our cabins were adorable log cabins. We went down the mountain a quarter of a mile to catch a restaurant and ordered a thin crust pizza. It was delicious. We came back to our cabins and got settled in for the evening and heard that the northern lights were going to be on display for the rest of our trip. All we needed was dark skies. So at 1:30 AM, Wynn and I stumbled out of bed and met Bob and Evelyn outside under the dark skies. And yes indeed, we saw the northern lights. They were not all green and purples like we imagined, but the skies did look green in Bob's pictures. We are hoping to view them again in another day or so. Cannot do this every night . ? We did see some mountain sheep way up high as well.
So after falling back to sleep, we had breakfast right at the Sheep Lodge. Homemade cinnamon rolls and hot eggs and thick bacon gave us a good start for a new day. We drove back into Palmer and then decided to head to Talkeetna. It was such a clear day, that we knew we would be able to see Denali. They told us there that only 10 % of visitors in the summer months see it as clearly as we got to today. We stopped several times along the way to take pictures of Mt McKinley.
We also saw where some of the forest fire went through.
When we got to Talkeetna, we decided to go through a few gift shops and be tourists. We picked up T-shirts, ball caps… and Evelyn got me a very cute moose coffee mug. And then, Bob and I got to fulfill one of our bucket list items, we booked a small air flight to go over the Southface of Denali
Here are some pictures from the air that I was able to shoot. I have not downloaded any of Bob's pictures today, as they are returning the rental car right now. I wanted to get the blog up before I got too tired. So you will have to settle for my photography.
So after a couple of days, we are ready for our scenic train ride from Anchorage to Denali. After having seen it from the air, it will be fun to tour the Nat'l Park. We will be staying in the Princess Lodge for the next two nights.
Wynn and I both took time to call our Mom's today. Today marked the 2nd anniversary of my Dad's arrival into Heaven. I miss him and knew my Mom would be missing him too. Wynn talked to his Mom and reminisced with her about their trip to Alaska in '93.
G'night from the Hobars and the Gerbers...
Posted by brendagerber07 22:34
I sure have enjoyed your Alaskan adventure! Thanks for bringing us along! It looks beautiful and I am thrilled you all got to experience it!
by Kathy Caywood