The next morning we woke early and headed down the path to Denali Bluffs hotel, and then out on to the town. What a lovely walk...I can't imagine skipping it for a rackety old bus, as the cruise crowd seemed to do.
Connor loves the smell of fireweed. It's such a fleeting ephemeral moment in Alaska that these amazing wildflowers flame in all their glory. There was yarrow, primroses, wild roses, fireweed, and lovely star-like flowers I've never seen elsewhere and fade as quickly as a whisper if picked. I made Connor leave them alone despite his earnest desire to make me a "bokay" -- it would have felt like a murder to pick these delicate lacy beauties.
We drove out to the park visitor center and watched a ranger program, then headed back for lunch. That afternoon, we rested while Timmy napped and then went to the Alpenglow restaurant downstairs. It was a much nicer restaurant than the "Bake" but they too had lots of gluten free selections. Connor enjoyed some wild rice with cranberries and pesto chicken, while Timmy and I again shared some salmon. It was the first decent salmon I've had in Alaska - most is far too done for my taste - and this was truly lovely. Bright pink sockeye, done to a turn; my mouth is watering even now. Unfortunately no gluten free desserts were available; well, they did have pudding but I didn't want to risk a cross contamination issue after such a pleasant weekend, so we got some ice cream bars and went to sit on the terrace and enjoy the view as we ate our ice cream. Connor really wanted to raft, but the age limit is 12 years...sigh. Someday, Connor!
Sunday "dawned" lovely. We hustled out the door at 7, leaving our luggage for the rail pick up, and boarded a bus for the visitors' center. Once there, we watched a short film that was, in Connor's words "Awesome! Increyable!" and sat through a junior ranger program about local fauna. We skedaddled down to the bus depot and headed to the ranger station for the sled dog demo. They still use sled dogs all winter to traverse the park -- paw power rules the Alaskan winter! Connor loved the demo, but these dogs are a closer relative of wolf than I care for and we were asked to move away because Timmy was bringing out a predatory instinct in a few dogs. I like him and want to keep him, so I deemed it prudent to follow their advice.
Here's the ranger who led the sled dog demonstration...Connor has a new hero! He loved ranger Mark.
Here they are readying the dogs. Connor got to stand on the sled once it stopped -- it goes about 20 mph starting out -- and that made his day. I could not get a picture though...too many people crowding around. I was a fair bit disgruntled, but I got a pic of the dogs which is all Connor cares about.
I preferred this dog to the others. It's a tribute to "Buck" of White Fang legend and a contribution collection point.
Caught this view of the Windy Bridge as we left with the last whimper of battery power.
The trip back was harrowing. The train was delayed by a medical emergency for 2 hours, and so we boarded after 5. We were supposed to arrive at 8, so obviously we were going to be very late. We also had switch crews in Nenana and a moose blocked the tracks for several minutes...with overtired boys and much more disgruntled tourists on the train, mommy was fraying a bit around the edges. We finally got home at 11 and crawled gratefully into bed, as I shall do now.
Hope you enjoyed!
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