Denali

June 24, 2010

Arrived in Healy mid-afternoon on the 24th. Camp set up and dinner done we left to drive out to the Savage River turnaround in hopes of seeing some animals. Nothing was seen so we came back to camp and turned in. Saw on the internet that there had been a bad storm in Charlottesville. Called all our children to make sure they were
all right. No problems for them except traffic. Was unable to contact Ivy but he let us know he was ok the next day.

June 25, 2010

Went to my old work place in Denali and saw Linda(my boss) and Terry(a co-worker).
Had coffee with Linda in the employees cafeteria building. It has had a nice upgrade since I was there and Linda says the food is much improved. I surely hope it is. We planned to meet for dinner and she was going to get me a ticket to ride the bus out to Wonder Lake and back. All employees who go through orientation get 6 free passes per season, so between she and her husband they had 12. So it was a nice treat for me.

We met at Prospectors Pizza for dinner. They have excellent pizzas at a reasonable price(for ALASKA). In addition they have 49 different beers on tap. Most from Alaskan Micro-Breweries. Roger had gotten me a bus ticket leaving at 6:15 to Wonder Lake. It is an 11 hour round-trip. We went by there one room cabin(furnished by Aramark) and talked for a while. It was really good to catch up with them. We discussed some of the places we had been in common. Roger said that he had been a scuba diver instructor. I mentioned that we had been to a place called Blue Hole. He almost fell out of his chair. That is where he conducted his diving classes. Small world, ain't it?

After an enjoyable visit back to camp. Set the alarm for 4:30 and I wish I could say that I slept soundly. That was not to be.

June 26, 2010

My sister's birthday. Called and left a message. Off to the bus depot at 4:45. Joyce had planned to go fishing if she could find a license and if the weather improved.

Boarded the bus on schedule and there were only 8 of us. Usually these trips have a lot more folks on them but we did not mind. And it was a very successful day. We say caribou, red fox, wolves, golden eagles, Dall sheep, ground squirrels and a couple of moose. In addition there were snowshoe Hares and a few Ptarmigan. Joyce was waiting for me when I got back. Went to Rose's Cafe for dinner and then home.

June 27, 2010

We had thought thought about staying another day at Denali but decided not to. Our goal was Creek-side Inn in Anchorage. We got a late start but got here about 6:00. This is one of the worst campgrounds we have ever stayed at. Right beside the Seward Highway and road noise is terrible. But we will endure.

Went to try and find a Wal-Mart to pick up some needed supplies. After an hour of being totally lost we finally found one. Our sense of direction is all messed up. When the sun comes up in the north and sets in the north it really leaves us befuddled. Also not being able to see the stars and locate the North Star does not help either. We will leave tomorrow for Homer. Not sure how far we will get.