Alaska
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The Iditarod
Seventy-two mushers have finished
Seven are still on the trail.
Seventeen have scratched.
~~~
Memories of our trip to Alaska
Day Sixteen – August 8, 2003
We had seen everything we had hoped to see, and more – at least things that were accessable by motorhome – except Mt. McKinley. (It was cloudy and rainy when we were in that area on Day One and Day Two of our trip.)
The weather was supposed to be beautiful during the next two days, so we retraced our steps from Anchorage to McKinley.
We were delighted with our first view of THE MOUNTAIN.
We drove for miles, taking advantage of every view of the gigantic hill. In the early part of our trip we talked about going on a helicopter ride to see it even closer, but gave up on that idea when it was covered with clouds. Now that we had extra time, we revived that idea.
The Mile Post told us there was a place to get helicopter rides at a certain mile post, but all we could find was what looked like a private lodge .
It was called Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge (Princess Tours).
We were unsure about parking the motorhome in their lot, but figured the worst they can do is ask us to leave.
When coming in the driveway, I noticed this beautiful deck, so we asked the hostess if we could have tea on the deck – to enjoy the view of the mountain. We also informed her that we were not with Princess Tours, but had a motorhome in the parking lot. She said that was not a problem.
This was my favorite photo of McKinley that day.
After finishing our tea, we walked around the lodge, to check if there was anything else to do there.
WE FOUND THE HELICOPTER DESK!
We told them we had trouble locating them. He said at this particular location they can not put an advertisement along the road because they are working with Princess Tours.
He said there needed to be at least four people for them to take the helicopter out to McKinley, and thought someone would probably sign up for the next morning because more than a dozen buses would be arriving that night.
We signed up, then noticed a film would soon be showing in one of the conference rooms. It was by Leroy Zimmerman (the same man who produced the Northern Lights film we saw at Ester). This one was called Sounds of the Land and was excellent.
Pretty Daisies on the grounds.
Since we were hoping to take a helicopter ride in the morning, we were permitted to keep our camper there. We spent the evening walking around the beautiful grounds, sitting in the camper watching buses arrive and hundreds of tourists unloading, and hoping to hear from Era Helicopter. At 8:00 the helicopter representative came to tell us another couple had signed up for ten o’clock in the morning.
We could hardly sleep that night – for more than one reason. The sun was still shining in our camper window at 11:00!
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Today in Our World
March 16, 2008
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As we were getting ready for church, we noticed Amish buggies coming back our road, which means one of our Amish neighbors was hosting church at their house this morning.
We have only a few Amish families in our valley, so only see this activity once or twice a year.
We saw about ten buggies going by our house. Probably the same amount or more came from the other direction.
While waiting for more buggies, I enjoyed watching this Tufted Titmouse.
In the early afternoon, I again heard the clip-clop of horses hooves.
This family had the back window open.
About the time I took this picture, I noticed the buggy stop and pull off the road …
…then make a u-turn. They probably forgot something.
I love our quiet, farming neighborhood.
They loved using this for a fort when I was working in the office. What fun to spend a week making memories.
