Denali

Well, my time in Alaska is winding down....today is the last day. We are in Fairbanks and will do panning for gold and have a trip on a steamboat. The weather looks kind of raw out there....windy and rainy. It was like that when we were in Ketchikan, our first day out, so I guess we will wind it up the same way we began.

I got up at five on Monday to check the channel they have on the tv showing a view of Denali, also known as Mt. McKinley. I thought I could see the top of the mountain so I threw on my clothes and ran (well, walked fast!) down to the lodge. The mountain is only visible 30 percent of the time. Since it is 20,320 feet tall (tallest in North America) it is most often covered in clouds. I got some shots I was happy with....still not used to downloading photos with this new camera. With it being 15.2 megapixels, I have to be careful of the size of the file. Denali is the native word for "the great one" and is used more often than Mt. McKinley up here. President McKinley never showed much interest in Alaska. The national park here is also named Denali. We went on a 4.5 hour tour in Denali yesterday.....wish I could have done the more extensive eight hour tour. I did buy me a pin for my hat that says "30% Club"....for people who actually see the mountain.

We did have an earthquake here. We were in the town where it was centered the day before it happened. We did not, however, know when it happened. We are watching the weather reports for the lower 48, so I am going to enjoy this last day of cold weather!

One of the readers on this blog was doing this trip a week after me....hope she enjoys it as much as I did. Princess (who is together with Holland America) is so organized. I love organization! They give you a welcome pack as you arrive at each location and your luggage is sent separately ahead of you, so you don't have to worry about that. I have been very impressed with every aspect of their operation. Many people come on these trips and then decide to come up and work for Princess for five months of the year. Great for retirees or free spirits. I would do it, but not too sure how my husband would feel about that! It has been a great trip and I have lots of photos to share when I get home.