Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. It became a territory in 1912, and became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
The next day of our trip happened to be July 4th. We thought we would be running into lots of tourist and the day would be frustrating. We were completely wrong.
After our previous clear day with Denali showing well, we woke up to what 70% of the visitors see, which is "not Denali" because of clouds. What is mind-blowing is that you still see plenty of mountains, with no idea that there is a huge mountain hidden behind in the clouds.
After breakfast on our own we boarded the bus at 7:30. We didn’t have far to go to reach Mary Carey’s McKinley View Lodge where our group would split up.
Our group started with kayaking on Byers Lake, the largest lake in the state park.
Southside River Guides provided the guide and all the equipment we needed.
Mark immediately spotted a disc golf basket, with discs. He has now officially thrown a disc in Alaska!
Gear up – rain pants, rubber boots, and PFD.
It took a while to get everyone outfitted but we were soon on our way to the kayaks.
For this being the July 4th weekend, we were
the only people on the water. It was magical.
The views were beautiful.
We saw a few birds.
After a couple of hours on the water it was time to head back to McKinley Lodge for lunch.
The lodge had some interesting historical items, including this unique type of power saw. The Wright Power Saw, "the world's safest power saw". Unfortunately, they didn't cut very well, so never really caught on beyond use for pruning or trimming.
When the rest of our group came back from their hike, we switched places and our group got in a couple of vans and headed to the hiking trails.
We had a 3 mile out and back hike this afternoon. It was getting pretty warm by now and the trail was a little steep, so once again we found ourselves sweating in Alaska. Not the plan...
Our hike started at the K’esugi Ken Campground.
We hiked the Curry Ridge Trail.
There were plenty of beautiful views along the trail.
About 1 ½ miles up was our turn-around spot.
We passed a couple of people on the trail on our way back down but otherwise, we had the trail to ourselves on this beautiful, but warm, July 4th.
We were back on the coach about 5:30 pm and by 7:00 I was eating halibut quesadillas (two words that we'd never seen together before!!) and Mark had fish & chips at the Talkeetna Lodge.
Next time: We are back on the train.
With the cost of diesel and gasoline, some folks may have decided not to travel long distances this summer. When we drove to Alaska the HIGHEST we paid for gas was $1.99.
ReplyDeleteWe were surprised that gas costs the same there as it does here in Texas.
DeleteSounds like a very organized trip.
ReplyDeleteI would have also opted for the fish-and-chips.
Annie was super organized. We did have a major snafu at our last hotel, which was the hotel’s fault. But, Annie got them straightened out and stayed with it until everything was settled.
DeleteNice that they split you up into two small groups. I like tandem kayaks and letting the person in back doing all the work. I'm rarely there!
ReplyDeleteI don’t mind having my own kayak, but it is nice to just sit back and have Mark move us around.
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