Alaska Vacation Day 3

We left Fairbanks this morning via a coach passenger bus for an approximately 2 1/2 hour drive to Denali National Park. Halfway to Denali, we made a stop at a local, all-purpose tour bus rest stop/ and campground and little gift and convenience store for a break. What a great little gig for these folks, who do reside here all year round we are told.

We arrived at the hotel, McKinley Chalet Resort, around 12:30ish, and were quickly checked into our room. How nice it is to have the suitcases already in the hotel room (up a flight of stairs in this case as well), waiting for us, not having to deal with them. We put the bags outside our hotel room door early this morning with appropriate tags, and the tour staff move them along appropriately for us. We will do this again in the morning for the travel leg to the cruise ship.

I'm not quite sure what I expected as far as being able to see...well, actually I do know what I EXPECTED...I had thought I would actually SEE Denali mountain (formerly known as Mt. McKinley, the third tallest mountain in the world). However, the weather and low lying cloud cover did not allow this to happen. As it turns out, it sounds as if not that many people do actually SEE the mountain (probably unless you get pretty close to it) because of the cloud cover. The mountain range is so extensive that it creates its own weather pattern according to the locals. I'm hoping that we will perhaps catch a glimpse of it when we leave the hotel in the morning to drive to Seward.

This is the Denali Visitors Center. The hotel provides a free shuttle service from the hotel to the center., and back again.

We liked the bear statue.

Inside the visitors center there was a variety of native animal exhibits. They were like rock statues.

It wasn't raining hard, just kind of a constant drizzle. Before we left for the trip, people who had been here before advised to be sure to take rain gear as it rains fairly often. It is true, however, they only get an average of 11" of rainfall a year. That is less than even Arizona some years. It amazes me to learn this as they get so much snow as well in the winter. I guess it's a pretty dry snow, and doesn't pack well (the comment was made that kids don't get to have very many snowball fights).

Below is the view from the door of our hotel room. There are probably 10 hotel rooms on each of two floors in a bulding and there are rows of buildings. We are in Building E tonight. I'm not sure how many buildings there are. It resembles loosely a cabin. It's pretty cute. It's a small suite like room. There is a small living room area when first enter, then bathroom, and bedroom with standard size bed and twin bed in the back. The sofa in the front room pulls into a sleeper, which Allison has claimed as her own space.

Dinner tonight at Karsten's Public House on the resort property. There was also live music, which Bruce very much appreciated. He did a good job with some nice easy listening choices.

I had seen in some the literature we were given when we arrived that folks could sit around the fire pits in Denali Square below the hotel rooms and make s'mores. Of course Allison tunes into the sound of the word "s'mores". Guests can buy a premade "s'more kit" and enjoy the tasty treat.

Pleasant sitting in the Denali Square after dinner. It's around 10:00 p.m. and it looks like mid-evening back home. Since we've been here, it just doesn't seem to "get dark"...not like at home. I do think this would be kind of hard to get used to if I lived here for sure.

Our bus is scheduled to leave in the morning at 6:45, and the itinerary says a 10-hour road trip. Since we stopped halfway through a 2 1/2 hour trip this morning, I assume this will include several stops along the way. We will end up in Seward and board the cruise ship tomorrow evening. I don't anticipate being able to get online again until we stop in a port stop, and get to someplace with wi-fi, but we'll see.