We needed to get up by 5 AM because they will pick up luggage at 5:45 at our cabins. We did most of our packing last night, so 45 minutes was enough time. When Jim went on his hike yesterday he got his hiking boots, socks and bottoms of his pants soaked. This came from walking extensively in sphagnum-based areas and from walking across shallow streams. There is a drying room in the building with the showers and resource room. Jim’s nylon pants were bone dry when he checked after 2 hours. His boots and socks were still wet in the morning, but at least on their way to becoming dry.
When we were planning this trip, friends told us that Camp Denali was the highlight of their trip to Alaska. When Jim made a reservation, he got the last cabin available during this time period or the one before. (People are in groups for 3 days, 4 days or 7 days). He was told he had 10 days to mail in the full payment of a bit over $3,000. Being a cheapskate, Jim hesitated a lot before sending the check. He is really glad he did it. He understands now why it is so expensive. Between Camp Denali and Northface lodge, they have a staff of 50 who are kept quite busy. They need to drive 7 or 8 hours each way to get groceries. They have 5 buses, 4 vans and several trucks and other vehicles. They serve exquisite meals. They need to maintain a water supply that runs a few miles along with an extensive processing system. They have lots of equipment for guests, etc.
We ate our last breakfast at Camp Denali – eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and cranberry scones that had just been baked. There were extra ones for us to take on the return bus trip. We climbed onto the bus ready for our long four hour trip back to the visitors’ center at the entrance to the park.
As we were driving along, coins started to fall from the storage rack above us. It felt like pennies from heaven except these were mostly quarters. It turned out that Jim had put his coins into a pocket in the computer bag and the zipper had opened. As the bus bumped along the coins started to leave the bag and fall down on us. It took a while to figure out where they were coming from. We initially though they came from an unzipped pocket in the backpack, then thought it might be someone else’s money.
Something we noticed and knew about a few time earlier, but didn’t put in our blog is a huge black crater. It turns out that the black is ice from the Muldrow Glacier that was filled with minerals.
This trip out of Denali was filled with sightings of animals. We saw a beaver, a brother and sister yearling moose having breakfast, and a bear who was really moving fast. We also had to stop for 3 or 4 minutes while a moose decide to get off the road about 3 vehicles ahead of us. It was a great way to exit Denali.
Maintaining the road in Denali National Park is a major job. There are road crews responsible for each 30 mile section with their own equipment.
As our bus arrived and luggage was being unloaded and Jim fetching our car, Ardith noticed an older couple that met the bus and greeted the staff with hugs. They also greeted Shelton and his wife who had ridden on the bus with us. Ardith wondered if they were Jenna’s parents who had run Camp Denali for 35 years, but there was no chance to speak with them since they were busy getting Shelton and his wife over to the train station for their return trip to California.
After loading our car and saying goodbye to our new Denali friends, we headed out to find a place to eat lunch. Several miles from the park entrance we found a log cabin style restaurant that specialized in pizzas. As we entered the building that same couple was also entering. Ardith asked if they were connected with Camp Denali and when they replied “yes” she asked if they were Jenna’s parents. They also answered “yes” to that question. We were so excited to meet the folks who had created such a wonderful place. They invited us to join them for lunch and we had a wonderful time learning about how they came to create such a place. They are such warm and friendly people. They were delighted to hear that we had such an outstanding time at Camp Denali and that we thought it was so well run. Jim loved his fried ravioli and Ardith enjoyed a Cabin Fever pizza with Canadian bacon and pineapple.
We headed to Fairbanks, our next stop. We are staying in the Alpine Lodge which turns out to be very near the paddlewheel boat we plan to ride while in Fairbanks. The lodge is very big and looks as though it might be a place used by cruise lines for passengers who are on the bus or train portions of their tours. However, we saw very few people there in our 3 nights. There is a parking lot adjacent to the Alpine where 11 buses belonging to the Royal Caribbean Line came and went. The lodge is across the road from the airport, but there are few flights. In any case, it is very quiet and a pleasant place to stay. The only problem is that it has internet service that is occasionally good, occasionally broken and most of the time very slow which frustrates Jim.
This being the 4th of July, people, perhaps a half a mile from the lodge, were setting off fireworks. The problem is that the sun is up until nearly 2AM and it never gets really dark. We could hear the noises and see puffs of smoke. There are no municipal fireworks in most of Alaska on the 4th.
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