Catching up!

Last few days were really busy! On Tuesday while I worked, the girls took the glacier tour and visited the wildlife refuge. Sydney got to see them feed the bears which had her very excited. They rode a boat out of Whittier and saw the glacier from the water.

On Wednesday I participated in the emergency response drill while Sydney and Jen did activities around Anchorage. It rained and was chilly, but they took the trolley around town to see the largest sea plane base in the world, did some shopping, and some eating. After I wrapped up we grabbed a quick dinner and went on the ghost tour of downtown. No ghosts spotted, but lots of good stories and history.

Yesterday I went fishing for salmon and Connie left our party to take a small plane to bear watch. Jen and Sydney went to the Anchorage museum and out for ice cream.

Today we are packing and hanging around town, we have an overnight flight back and get back to Dallas really early tomorrow. Hate to say goodbye to Alaska, but will be nice to get home.

Back to Anchorage

Yesterday we had a chance to sleep in a little then headed back to the train depot. We had a little extra time, so Connie and I walked some of the nearby trails while Jen and Sydney went for hot chocolate. The train arrived and we headed back south. The weather was perfect and we had what we were told was the best viewing of Mt. McKinley of the entire season.

We ate lunch on the train while watching the scenery.

We stopped briefly in Talkeenta, the town that Northern Exposure was based upon. We spotted a couple of moose along the way, and passed through Wasilla. Jen asked around and they pointed out the Palin house on the lake when we went by. We arrived back in Anchorage around 8 pm. Connie and Sydney hung out at the hotel while we went and met some of the AHMP crew on a pub crawl.

Denali National Park

After the tour got canceled, we saw the sled dogs, had some lunch and I checked multiple times on the conditions and closures. Finally we lucked into a ride heading to Savage River, 13 miles into the park. That was as far as the roads had opened and it was nearly 2 pm local, so there would not be any other opportunities. We headed over the first pass, through snow flurries, and past the signs warning the moose were rutting in the area, and higher into the mountains. The scenery was amazing with the storm still lingering and snow blowing. We had half an hour to explore a trail before the shuttle had to head back. We wandered along the path and soaked in the incredible surroundings. We could see the slope of Mt McKinley in the distance and spots of sun breaking through the clouds to light up different parts of the valley. We headed back and rode back to the park entrance where Jen and Sydney found some hot chocolate. Now back at the lodge we are enjoying a cocktail, Sunday night football in the afternoon local time, and posting these pics.

Day in Denali

Woke up at 5:30 to grab some breakfast and catch our bus into Denali. The plan was to ride along the entire 95 mile road and see wildlife and awesome views. We found over breakfast that it had snowed overnight and the road was closed from mile 30 on. By the time we picked up the other travelers, the snow had intensified inside the park and it was closed at mile 3! The driver cancelled our trip and left us very disappointed. We rallied and took a shuttle into the visitors center and by luck a ranger suggested we head up to the sled team demonstration. While listening about the dogs we caught a few flakes of wet snow, but it held out and we got a chance to pet the dogs and hear about how they are used for winter patrols. The ranger noted it is easier to start a husky when it's forty below and vehicles can't go into the wilderness areas. It's a 6 million acre park. We caught a movie about the park and grabbed some lunch and are hopeful we can go further in after lunch if weather allows! Photos will be posted tonight.

Train to Denali

We took the train from Anchorage to Denali yesterday, 8 hour 250 mile trip across Alaska. As we moved north, the views were spectacular. The crew said Mt. McKinley is only viewable about 10-15% of the time and we were treated clear conditions. The photo is from 46 miles away. It's the third highest mountain in the world (biggest in North America) at 20,320 feet. We had a quick glimpse of a moose and saw ospreys nesting. We arrived at our lodge and had a big pizza for dinner complete with reindeer sausage. The lodge is on a river, and we enjoyed the outdoor fireplace until the rains came.....

Safe arrival

Team Leney arrived in Anchorage last night a few minutes late and after nearly seven hours on the plane. We saw mountains and snow on the way in. Touched down to rain and temps in the 40s, not bad being as it was triple digits as we headed to the airport. Sydney was actually fired up despite how late it was in our original time zone, so she and I ate after we checked and tried to get on local time. Off to grab some breakfast and head over to the Denali Star to start our railroad adventure up to Denali.

We're Back !

I finally recovered the right links and passwords, and am activating the blog again for our big Alaskan adventure. Sydney has to keep her own journal of the trip for school, but I will try to log on a few times, post some pictures, and describer her experiences. Stay tuned !