Day5 - Denali National Park

We met a serious photographer hobbyist on our bus ride into Fish Creek, Denali National Park our first day - he was returning to where he had seen bears (both grizzly and black) the day before - and hike around the tundra, hoping to see some bears again and get some pics. We accepted his invitation to join him, as our alternative was to ride the bus back or venture out on our own. We hiked with 'Carey' (or Cary ... or Kerry?) about 3-4 miles total and had our picnic lunch sitting with a beautiful view of McKinley. And careful approaching hilltops - back away from bears, run from moose - no problem. We were lucky to see Mt. Mckinley both days that we travelled and hiked in Denali. And only saw bears from the bus, thank goodness.

Day4 - Anchorage to Alaska

Stopped at Carrs (SafeWay)-also got a plastic card for big savings and stocked up on food for the Denali Morning Mountain Hostel that we were headed for - including a couple of cheap coolers. Finally hit the road for Denali National Park around noon. It took us a few tries before we succeeded in leaving Anchorage. Who, me lost? Matt got quite a chuckle out of this picture he took of me. I did all the driving - Matt isn't 26 yet - the Pacifica was a treat to drive. Took a 14-mile side trip to Talkeetna, where all hikers of McKinley are flown from. It was a strange little town. Also stopped at the library on the way out of town to check our email. Arrived at our hostel around 6 pm - would have been there earlier if we hadn't driven past the mailbox that marked it's entrance.

Day3 - Anchorage

Waking up early (7:00 am) at our Bed and Breakfast, we then walked around and around Anchorage. Got a day-old coffee, bagel and cheese for lunch - Matt spied a fellow Poolee in her red USMC tshirt and went and said hi. We eventually rented bikes and headed for the Tony Knowles Bike Trail. The trail follows the coastline, and we kept stopping to enjoy the view. One portion of the trail is next to the airport and goes right under the airplanes - Matt thought we could hitch a ride. Twenty-three miles later, we tiredly returned out bikes and made our way to ERAC to rent our luxury Chrysler Pacifica for the next 7 days. We starvingly found our way to the recommended Moose's Tooth for the best pizza in Alaska. Pizza and beer never tasted so good.

Day2 - Seattle, then Anchorage

Matt and I biked many hills and trails of Seattle, following the suggested route outlined on a bike map by Doug. I think we biked about 13 miles, which is not very impressive compared to Doug's bro Andy who just biked about 500 miles in The Rockies (98 miles the first day!). But it was enough for us. It was a gorgeous day, a beautiful route mapped out that started with a loop around Green Lake, then Golden Gardens Park, Chittendon Locks (complete with salmon, frye, boats passing thru), lunch at a hotdog stand downtown and of course, the Space Needle.
Then back to Doug and Masako's for a shower and off to return our rental purple plum PT Cruiser, eat some supper at Dave's Diner and head to the airport for a 9:05 pm departure to Anchorage.

Day1 - Seattle, June 5th

We had great fun visiting nephew Doug, and Masako in Seattle - things have changed a little bit since I lived there in 1975! They were great host and hostess - provided us a place to hang our hats for the night and bikes, helmets, locks and maps for the next day.