Denali to Anchorage

Today we had to have our luggage outside our rooms by 7:45am and then we had free time until 9:30am. Thomas and I were up around 6:30am. We got all of our stuff organized and put everything except our backpacks out in the hall. We only had a few essentials in the backpacks for the drive to Anchorage – snacks, water, camera, jackets, etc. – so that we didn’t have to haul too much around. Once everything was ready we headed over to the restaurant to have a little breakfast. We ended up joining The Lazy Letterboxer (Deanne) and The Letterboxing Ham (Dave) for the buffet. After eating Thomas and I took a little walk around the hotel grounds then sat in the lobby and read until it was time to board the bus. By 9:20am we were all on the bus and Kevin (our driver) headed for the highway, remember we are still traveling the George Parks Highway. The weather was a bit overcast and I think we were all secretly wishing for the clouds to disappear so we could maybe get one last glimpse of Denali. As we rode along we all kept an eye out for a a sighting of the mountain but unfortunately the clouds persisted. Since we weren't seeing the mountain we were told to keep an eye out on the left for our only chance to see an igloo in Alaska. As we drove through Cantwell we saw it - a four story igloo that was intended to be a hotel but encountered some problems - you can read a little about it at Igloo City. Then somewhere between mile 133 & 136 we pulled off into a rest area for a bathroom break and for a chance to see the mountain, this was the Denali View South Wayside. The mountain was completely covered so we didn't get to see it but we did get a chance to get off the bus and stretch our legs. At this stop there is a short trail you can walk, telescopes to look at the mountain and a painted mural showing the peaks of the Alaska Range so you know what you are looking at - unfortunately when it is all covered with clouds it doesn't do any good. We left the area and continued south and near mile 114 or so we passed the turn to Talkeetna, we didn't stop here and I kind of wished for a break from listening to Debbie (she would talk incessantly and then say I will give you a break for a little while and 2 minutes later she was talking again - mostly about her outhouse). Later we drove through a small town called Willow – this is where Debbie lives. And we heard all about how she lives off the grid and doesn't have electricity and she has an outhouse and how the outhouse has a window and a bear bell and by the time we got to our next stop I was so tired of hearing about it I was ready to volunteer to get her electricity and indoor plumbing. We continued our drive and made our second stop in the small town of Houston. Here there was a small general store (Millers Market) and an art gallery next to it. You can't miss it because there is a huge ice cream cone in the parking area and three other cones on top of the building. The store had an Ice Cream Parlor inside and most of us got a snack there and we either visited the art gallery or found a spot to sit and enjoy the ice cream. I had a cone with mocha and peanut butter ice cream and Thomas had a scoop of mint chocolate chip with hot fudge sauce in a cup. The woman that owned the art gallery did paintings using octopus ink. She told us that the ink is so concentrated that it doesn't take much to do a painting since you have to dilute it with water. She said she had about an ounce of the ink and that would probably last for life. After about 30 minutes we were back on the bus and it wasn’t long before we reached Wasilla. You know this town, well at least you have heard of it. You know that woman who lives there, yeah you do – the one who can see Russia from her house. NO – we did not see her house, but we did see the road that you drive down to get to her house. Going through the town Debbie gave us some history but did not mention Palin – it wasn’t until some woman on the bus asked where she lived that any mention of Palin came up. Debbie answered the questions with very short answers and quickly changed the subject. I don’t think she wanted to get involved with any type of political issues. So that was that and it wasn't long after that we reached Anchorage.

In Anchorage, the bus dropped us off at 4th Ave. and G St. so that we could walk around downtown and kill some time while Debbie got us checked in at the hotel. We could make our way to the hotel and picked up our room keys after 4:30pm. I stopped in at a photo store for a lens cap and then crossed the street to go to the Log Cabin and Downtown Visitors Center. Afterwards Thomas and I went to the UPS store to get information about sending some things back home to make the rest of the trip a little lighter. So we picked up a box and mailing label and then walked to the hotel. At the hotel we had to wait about five minutes before we could get our keys. When we got up to the room our luggage was already there. So we quickly went through everything and packed the box to be mailed home. Once that was organized we went through our clothes and Thomas emptied one of the suitcases and filled it with everything we had that needed washing. Thomas wanted some quiet time from the group so he decided to go to a laundromat and wash the clothes while I went to the UPS store to mail the box. From there I met some of the group at Glacier Brewhouse for dinner and a mini meet with a couple of the Alaska letterboxers (knottyknitterdirtmonkey, Nana C and the Seedlings and of course deniserows). The place was busy and we ended up having two tables near each other. One of the tables was in a small room next to the other table. The people from the trip that attended were Mark & Sue Pepe, the Lazy Letterboxer & the Letterboxing Ham, Yiker & Spike, TsukiAmes & Jei, roadrunner, Twanda70 & Peggy, Doublesaj & OldBlue, Black Ibis, Mumthunder, moonstone, The Gamecock, Celtic Cat, PenGwen and me. So we did some stamping in with exchanges and some personal travelers as well as an event stamp. For dinner I had jambalya fettucine – it was wicked good. It tasted like something I could get at home in Louisiana. When we were done Nana C and the Seedlings dropped me off at a trailhead where I went to find two of her boxes. This trail was the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and it followed the Knik Arm and Cook Inlet. So I went on a little walk and found Ride On! And Itsy Bitsy Dragon. As I was walking back to the hotel I met up with Mark & Sue, TsukiAmes & Jei, Lazy Letterboxer & Letterboxing Ham on the trail. They were heading to the boxes I had just found. I left them to be on their way and continued on to the hotel. When I got there Thomas was back with all our clothes clean and ready to be packed again. So we organized our luggage and got everything ready for the train ride to Seward in the morning.

We have been very busy and time seems to slip right through my fingers and I end up staying up late to get caught up on these posts. I am also finding it difficult to get internet connection lately. Either the hotels don’t have it or it is really slow and difficult to upload things. So I have now gone to writing my post in Word and when I get somewhere that has better connection I will copy and paste and upload. I may or not have pictures added and I will have to edit the post once I get somewhere that I have time and good connection – it may even be when I get home.