| | | |
| | Alaska
2012 | |
| |
| |
| | | |
| | | |
| | I
take a day off from my walking, as I usually don't walk on the weekends. Since
Denny's is the reasonable option, I wander next door and give it a whirl. As I
said before, I'm glad they have at least one distinction to their credit. On the
way out I ask the lady at the counter if they carry stamps, since they have some
postcards. She suggested that I try at Merlin's since they didn't carry stamps.
It will be a straight run down A3 to Anchorage, so it should be a short day without
going into the Denali Park. We make a quick stop at Merlin's and they do have
stamps and for that I am thankful. Since it is a bit drier this morning, we decide
we will stop back at the overlook to see if we can get some better shots without
water droplets. | |
| |  | |
| | There's
a commemorative plaque but folks have decided that it is an 'artist canvas' and
treated it accordingly. Perhaps they should have taken some lessons beforehand.
| |
| |  | |
| | The
view is a little clearer and a little drier, but I don't hold out much hope for
it staying that way. | |
| |  | |
| | When
we come down off the mountain, we see this little roadside memorial. Being a Marine,
I really appreciate the statue in full dress blues and the flags that are flying.
| |
| |  | |
| |
The darkening skies
do not bode well for a dry ride but we keep cooking along. We finally stop
so I can put on my rain gear instead of becoming a drowned rat. |
|
| |  | |
| | It's
about time for a break, so we pull into the little town area just before you get
to the Denali park entrance. It's a good place for fuel for the bikes and fuel
for us since the temps are pretty cool. I look over their stuff and decide that
$7.65 for a can of Spanish peanuts is a bit much. But they do have hot chocolate,
so I fix me a big mug. When the lady rings me up the total is $22,000. I tell
her - "I know things
are bit expensive around here, but that's a little more than I can afford." She
says "Hmm, I'd better try that again" and for that I am thankful. I
also I pick up a postcard and affix a stamp. I ask her - "Reckon
where the nearest post office would be?" "Oh,
the box right here on the counter" she says. So
I get to send my eldest granddaughter a Denali postcard right from Denali. | |
| |  | |
| | There
are lot of lodges and such in the area, but I shutter to think what the nightly
rate is if a cup of hot chocolate is $22,000. Since it has stopped raining, I
contemplate taking off my rain suit. If I do, it will start raining again, if
I don't it won't. Since it's kind of cool anyway, I decide to put my heated gear
on underneath it. So it's out of the rain gear, out of the riding suit, on with
the heated gear, on with the riding suit, and back on with the rain suit. But
at least I'll be warm and dry regardless of what the weather decides to do. | |
| |  | |
| |
South of the park on A3 there
is a place called the 'Southern Viewpoint'. It has one of the best southern
views of Mount McKinley because the A3 is the closest highway approach
to the summit—as close as the national park road. So if you want a good
view of it, just take A3 past the park and stop here. There are several
placards at this site that give interesting details of the local history.
| |
| |  | |
| | I
begin to understand a little more about the crazy weather around here when I read
this one. | |
| |  | |
| | This
one explains the tug of war over the name of the mountain. | |
| |  | |
| | And
there is a lovely panorama of the exactly where Denali is and the names of the
surrounding mountain peaks I find this much more interesting than what I saw in
the park proper. | |
| |  | |
| | It
is interesting to match the mountain peaks before us with .. | |
| |  | |
| | the
placard that is on site. | |
| |  | |
| | Before we pull
out, Alain tells me - "Do
you know that your low beams are out?" "Nope,
I guess I need to stop and get some new bulbs at the next town." The
next town happens to be Wasilla, of Sarah Palin fame. But they have a NAPA Auto
Parts, so I get some bulbs and some contact cleaner just in case it's the switch.
I spray the switch but that doesn't fix it. So I figure we'll change them when
we get to the motel in Anchorage. When get to the Super 8, we find out that there
is a Goldwing convention in town. I also figure out that I bought the wrong type
of bulbs in Wasilla and now I am in a bit of a fix. The nice lady at the front
desk tells me where another auto parts is close by, so I tell Alain - "I'm
off. Hopefully I'll be back shortly." In
my less than fully cognitive state, I had bought 9004s so I am really confused.
The nice young feller in this NAPA looks at my old bulb and said "This
one is a 9003." "How
do you know that?" I asked not wanting to mess up twice. "I
can barely see it on the base" he replies. Now
my synapses finally synapse and I remember I wanted 9003s not 9004s. I thank him,
take my bulbs and get back to the ranch in short order. As usual, the headlight
bulb changing turns into a bit of a pain in certain parts of the anatomy. But
finally we persevere and get the job done. I noticed on the way in that we passed
a place called the "City Diner" | |
| |
 |
|
| | It looks like the
real deal, so we decide we'll do the hike up there and check it out. And as it
turns out, it is a very good choice. I order the pot roast and mashed tatters,
and it's good enough to make your tongue lick out the tops of your shoes. And
I am forced to follow it up with a scoop of ice cream drowned in fudge syrup.
I figure that will give me the strength for the long march back to the hotel.
We've got a long day tomorrow and we'll have to leave real early to catch the
ferry the day after. So once I get back to the room, I get right after the business
of snoozing. | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
