Alaska Adventure, Page 2

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A Wilderness Adventure — Page 2

From Anchorage to Denali

Boarded the train in Anchorage and rode north to the Princess McKinley Lodge near Talkeetna, a couple of hours south of Denali National Park. The double-decker train cars had observation coaches on the top floor and linen-tablecloth dining rooms on the first floor. Cherie saw one moose along the way -- I saw two billion pine trees. She won.

Mark and Cyndi and Charlie Cactus are all smiles as they ride the rails
Cherie and Jamie, never an original thought in his head, wave goodbye to the big city

Mt. McKinley Lodge

Painfull to admit, the overnight stay at the McKinley lodge was a bust — our Backcountry Jeep Safari was cancelled due to impassable roads, we took a nature walk with a naturalist so air-headed we only stayed long enough to see if she'd float away, the afternoon was too cloudy to see Mt. McKinley, Cherie's fancy dinner salad was moldy, and Mark and I were swarmed by mosquitoes when we took an evening stroll. How do you spell b-o-r-i-n-g?

The lodge was nice enough ... for geriatrics
Cherie and Cyndi were only drinking water, but still had to hold each other up

The next morning, however, the sky cleared, and Cyndi and Mark were able to see North American's stunning highest peak, Mt. McKinley ... or Denali, as the natives call it, over a hundred miles away.

A Zoom With A View

At 20,320 feet elevation, the south face of Denali can be seen from hundreds of miles

Denali Lodge

The Princess Denali Lodge is rustically perched along the Nenana River close to the entrance to Denali National Park

Nanook and Nanette of Nenana River
Mark and Cherie prepare for their Alaskan adventures in Denali in true native style.

No, our cabins weren't quite this rustic, but Mark and Cherie would have been right at home in these accomdations ... as long as an electric hair dryer (for Chere, not Mark) and a color TV with satellite dish (for Mark, not Cherie) were inside. (Unfortunately, Mark, that aint a satellite dish mounted on the cabin)

While the ladies shop, their men flop
Yes, I was prepared to live the life of a beach, er, bench bum, soaking up the rays and working on a nice Alaskan tan. Hah! The land of the midnight sun is more like the land of eternal clouds.

Poor Mark, his eyes appear to be getting a bit red from all the sleepless sunlit nights. But he's found something jaw-dropping with his binoculars — run your mouse over the mystery photo to see what's captured Mark's attention

A Visit to Bush Country
A jet boat took us up the Nenana River and back into Alaskan bush country, named, we're sure, for that famous Texan family that thinks the scenery would be improved by replacing trees with oil derricks

A trapper, above left, explained his livlihood and the various animal furs found in the area.
He almost convinced us that the species were well served by his trapping acumen, and he proudly proclaimed that he's getting even local girl scouts into the act. Is that so, Jim?
His sidehick, er, sidekick, above right in the brown shirt, showed how to pan for gold and gave us the chance to make or lose our fortunes in his make-shift gold stream. He won, we lost.
Cyndi demonstrates her panhandling abilities

Continue to Denali Tundra Tour Or Return to Anchorage

Or Return to the Family Photo Album

Boarded the train in Anchorage and rode north to the Princess McKinley Lodge near Talkeetna, a couple of hours south of Denali National Park. The double-decker train cars had observation coaches on the top floor and linen-tablecloth dining rooms on the first floor. Cherie saw one moose along the way -- I saw two billion pine trees. She won.


Mt. McKinley Lodge
Painfull to admit, the overnight stay at the McKinley lodge was a bust — our Backcountry Jeep Safari was cancelled due to impassable roads, we took a nature walk with a naturalist so air-headed we only stayed long enough to see if she'd float away, the afternoon was too cloudy to see Mt. McKinley, Cherie's fancy dinner salad was moldy, and Mark and I were swarmed by mosquitoes when we took an evening stroll. How do you spell b-o-r-i-n-g?

The lodge was nice enough ... for geriatrics Cherie and Cyndi were only drinking water, but still had to hold each other up

	The next morning, however, the sky cleared, and Cyndi and Mark were able to see North American's stunning highest peak, Mt. McKinley ... or Denali, as the natives call it, over a hundred miles away.


A Zoom With A View At 20,320 feet elevation, the south face of Denali can be seen from hundreds of miles


Denali Lodge
	The Princess Denali Lodge is rustically perched along the Nenana River close to the entrance to Denali National Park