Denali...Mt. McKinley...Denali

The name is interchangeable ~ I hear it both ways ~ not sure if one is more 'local' than the other...but my Colorado friends and I took a 4 day trip up to Denali National Park...we took our time driving up, and stopped in Wasilla at the local 'beach' for a quick lunch...

There were actually quite a few swimmers and sunbathers...it was in the low 60's...still a little too cold for me, but apparently a heat wave for locals...

I wanted to check out the town of Talkeetna as well as I had heard it mentioned quite a bit ~ it's the jumping off point for those who intend to climb McKinley.   It's also where you go if you plan to take a flight around the mountain.  We were told one of the best views of the mountain would be from the Talkeetna Lodge...and we were not disappointed...but keep in mind, Talkeetna is still 124 miles away from the Denali Park entrance...

You can see the tip of the mountain through the clouds...the brighter white through the greyer/bluer white...it's truly amazing seeing it up close...and more than once we were told that only 30% of people that visit the park / the area are able to see the mountain as it's often hidden by the clouds.

The lodge itself is really nice ~ would be a great place to stay for a weekend

playing with the camera, alternating the focus between the mountain and the flowers

See the plane flying low in the photo?  A lot of small planes in the area...

Talkeetna is a small, quirky town...

There were colorful, decorated moose scattered throughout - decorated by local school children...we stopped for ice cream and were tempted to do one of the flights but decided that experience would have to be for another time ~ I definitely plan to return and do it at some point though.

We were constantly on the look out for any wildlife we might be able to see...especially bears...

I saw this as we drove over a bridge and was so excited...BEARS!!  We turned around and went back to look, only to discover they weren't bears...they were BOULDERS!!  :)

We continued catching glimpses of the mountain along the way and pulled over several times - pictures really don't do justice to how impressive it is towering above everything else...

We decided to have dinner here, as we didn't think the view would get much better anywhere else...

And there was actually an interesting story about this place...it's called Mary's McKinley View Lodge - after a woman named Mary Carey.  In 1962, she drove from Texas to Alaska by herself to start a new life after her husband died.  She taught in Talkeetna and homesteaded 100 miles from the nearest road at a spot with the best view of McKinley she had ever seen.  She was an advocate for building the Parks Highway and the story goes that when she wrote to the governor about building a highway up from Anchorage to the park, he replied, "Alaska already has two roads, how many do you want in one state?"  When the Parks Highway was finally built by her homestead in 1973, she built the above lodge at mile 134 along the highway.  She wrote several books, including one that I purchased entitled "Alaska ~ Not for a Woman" (something she was often told by a local bush pilot).  The lodge is actually now run by Mary's daughter ~ she spends the summers in Alaska at the lodge, and the rest of the year in Texas.  She was in the gift shop, sharing details about her mom...including telling me that the book I purchased was typed on an old typewriter by her mother while sitting on the floor of her Alaska homestead.

The mountains adjacent to McKinley are equally impressive, although they look so small in comparison...

This is the view from the deck of the lodge...

and our view from the restaurant...again, we were fortunate to have a relatively clear day ~ the clouds had shifted significantly from our stop in Talkeetna, to when we stopped for dinner.  Another thing to mention ~ the best views and chances of seeing the mountain are actually outside the park because the weather around the mountain is unpredictable - people say the mountain 'makes its own weather'...and we found that to be true.  I'll share photos from inside the park in another post, but we were not able to see the mountain inside the park.

Happy Birthday Dave!!

Today is Dave's 9th birthday!  Last year, both he and Duncan were gypped (I had to look up how to spell that) out of birthday celebrations (I was busy packing this time last year so Dave missed out and I was on a plane to CO this past December on Duncan's birthday).  In the past, they have each received a 'store' bought birthday cake from the local pet bakery, but that gets a little spendy and there are an abundance of recipes available on-line, so this year, I decided Dave would get a home-made cake!

 Happy Birthday Dave!!  :)

 They both exercised self-control for these photo ops (taken last night)...and were rewarded with cake 'samples' from the pieces carved out of the sides to make the bone shaped cake...

Peanut Butter Carrot Cake for Pooches:
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
1/4 cup of natural peanut butter
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/3 cup of honey
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350* F.  Grease an 8x4" loaf pan.  Mix together the flour and baking soda.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until everything is well-combined.  Pour into pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  "Frost" cake with peanut butter if desired.

Colorado Visitors

When I told people I was moving to Alaska, many people expressed interest in coming up for a visit, but I know it's not the easiest (or inexpensive) place to get so I didn't expect to have many people follow through on their wishes.  However about 10 minutes after getting off the phone with my friend Denise, she called me back and said, "We're tentatively planning on June 2012."

And here they are...

Brad, Damion, Denise & Joleigh

We kept it low key the first day since they were short on sleep after a long, late night flight and early morning arrival - downtown Anchorage has an outdoor market on the weekends which is always fun to wander through.  And the following day we went for a hike to Thunderbird Falls (where I'd visited last fall) and then to a Reindeer Farm in Palmer, AK.

Joleigh

 The reindeer farm also had elk who liked to eat the tall grass around the farm

 they weren't exactly shy...

 many of the reindeer (caribou) had new babies...

The farm was in a beautiful valley, the mountains in the background reminded me of being in Austria or Switzerland...

 heavy sets of antlers

 more babies

 they also had a bison on the farm...

 as well as a moose...the bison and the moose are buddies

We contemplated doing another hike, but decided to just explore the area a little and see what we could see...there were a lot of 4 wheelers along the beach along the Knik River area...

 D&D came along for the hike and the ride, and enjoyed exploring the riverbeds as well...

 nothing like some good old fashioned rock throwing, right?

 Dave quickly plopped down and got comfortable, rocks and all...

 Duncan had a great time too

Joleigh & Damion

 naptime

 we saw a lot of signs that were used for target practice and were amused by the signs prohibiting firearms riddled with holes...

They left Anchorage Monday morning to do some exploring on their own down to Seward and Homer and then we met back up at the week for part 2 of our adventure...