Alaska - A Month Long Adventure - Trip Report - Page 24 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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WOW! Just spectacular. I had a hard time moving through the photos because I kept wanting to go back to the ones I'd already seen. Seeing the climbers is so amazing. It really gives more of a sense of scale (HUGE). I can't even imagine doing something like that. That one photo really does look like a meringue that's been beaten a bit too much and is crusty! The "not Denali" photo is so, so beautiful and mystical.
Thanks, Laurie. It turned out to be a great morning for the flight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What amazing views from your flightseeing tour! I loved all the shots of the climbers and I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who spots things in photos after the event...
I always find stuff after the fact. In this case, I was hoping the climbers would be there. I showed the other two gals who were on the flight when we were in the lounge that evening, and they were excited too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlb38
That might be the coolest cloud formation I've ever seen Looks like a wonderful tour, very to see base camp and climbers. As Laurie said, it does help with scale. Those climbers were quite close together. A great start to the day.
Thanks, Roberta.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Beautiful pictures from this morning! You're right, that one peak does look like meringue I'm glad you did eventually see the hikers, they do put the majestic size of the mountains into perspective.
Thanks, Jenn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
What amazingly beautiful shots of Mt. McKinley! And a PP connection as well. The same day you were flying around McKinley DH and I were sitting in Talkeetna basking in her glory! My sig pic was taken that morning and was the only time we saw the peak without the clouds. Your views were spectacular, especially being able to actually spot some climbers. I cannot imagine being able to climb that mountain (or any other, for that matter!).
It is a fun coincidence. I would have loved to see the mountain with the same morning light you saw - it was beautiful in your photos.
Tuesday, June 11th: Day 3, Part 2 of the Land Tour - Another view of Denali
Once we landed from our flightseeing tour, we loaded up into the van and made a quick stop at the Kantishna Air Taxi office - they also have a small B&B there. I waited in the van while everyone else went into the office. I had a chance to try out the "Skeeter Racket."
The mosquitos were large and plentiful. You press a button to turn the charge on, then zap them with these little rackets - it may not sound very nice, but there were lots of mosquitos. And, they were BIG!
I found out later that Lou had booked another plane trip while in the office. He decided we would fly out from Kantishna the next morning down to the Train Depot. This would give us time to check out the Visitor's Center. In a way, I would have preferred the bus ride, knowing it was a good time for animal viewing. But, not having to leave at 5:30am was an advantage. I could also see where 5 1/2 hours on the bus, then 8 hours on the train might be too much for Lou.
Back at the Roadhouse - it was still cloudy. Our cabin is the first one on the left - we were just behind the main lodge building, which meant we didn't have to sprint too far to get through the mosquitos.
Lou checks out our personal Skeeter Racket - at least now we know what they are for. There was at least one in every cabin:
It was sunny by lunchtime. A simple lunch of sandwiches and cookies was provided at the lodge. We ate lunch, visited, then went back to the cabin - and took a long nap I took a few photos during the afternoon, showing the creek that ran by the lodge.
Evidence that moose had been nearby. Of course, my apparent moose-repellant-aura insured we did not see any moose on property.
The Lodge did host a number of activities - guided hikes in the morning, gold panning or fishing in the afternoon, and a talk on dog sledding. We had dinner, which was not to our liking. The only Option was "Seafood Soup," or a Vegetarian Black Bean Patty. I opted for the vegetarian, and it would have been fine, but it was dry as a bone. Oh well, by this time we were pretty well tired of eating
At 9pm, I took the Shuttle to Wonder Lake to get some photos. Slathered up with deet to keep the skeeters away, we drove a couple miles to a parking area, then had to walk about 1/4 mile to get to the lake.
We all agreed to be back by 9:45 pm. The gal in pink in the above pic, took off to somewhere, and obviously had no intention of coming back on time. We actually had to go looking for her, even though the van is not supposed to go beyond the parking area. Once back in the van, she was oblivious - not even apologizing to our guide, and was upset that someone was seating in "her seat." I dunno about some people.
We had time to take some photos. It was a fairly clear view of the mountain. It would have been wonderful to see it at 4am!
A few more shots at the Lodge - remember, this is after 10pm.
More beautiful mountain shots. You've got to wonder at people and their entitlement issues! "What? That rule applies to ME as well?!" We see all too much of that these days.
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I'd have probably done what Lou did and booked a flight for the return trip. I like doing surface-level touring to see the sights and get a feeling of distance, but that was a long journey and not-so comfortable for Lou. Those Skeeter rackets are a neat, but sort of grizzly invention! A beautiful, clear day for more mountain shots. The lodge food situation doesn't sound good at all.
Oh boy, as beaufiful as it is, I don't think I could stay somewhere where they had to give me my own personal bug killer in my room I hate bugs! I would not have dealt well with all of the mosquitos around
Besides that, everything looks stunning. You got some more beautiful pictures from around the lake. It's still hard to comprehend it being so light out so late!
Oh my goodness, what amazing views that late at night! The only time we've experienced that is when we were in Oslo in July and that really messed with my head to be honest, as I couldn't quite wrap my head around it being so light so late at night.
More beautiful mountain shots. You've got to wonder at people and their entitlement issues! "What? That rule applies to ME as well?!" We see all too much of that these days.
Thanks. I know - it always amazing when people on group outings just think everyone else should wait for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great shots of Denali! Always wanted to get out to Wonder Lake! Beautiful lodge!
Thanks, Marnie. I definitely would like to see Wonder Lake again - especially very early in the morning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I'd have probably done what Lou did and booked a flight for the return trip. I like doing surface-level touring to see the sights and get a feeling of distance, but that was a long journey and not-so comfortable for Lou. Those Skeeter rackets are a neat, but sort of grizzly invention! A beautiful, clear day for more mountain shots. The lodge food situation doesn't sound good at all.
I didn't begrudge the idea of the flight out of the Lodge. The food wasn't good (for us), but again - it was only their first week of opening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Oh boy, as beaufiful as it is, I don't think I could stay somewhere where they had to give me my own personal bug killer in my room I hate bugs! I would not have dealt well with all of the mosquitos around
Besides that, everything looks stunning. You got some more beautiful pictures from around the lake. It's still hard to comprehend it being so light out so late!
Well - there was no getting around the mosquitos. Surprisingly, I didn't get too many bites.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Oh my goodness, what amazing views that late at night! The only time we've experienced that is when we were in Oslo in July and that really messed with my head to be honest, as I couldn't quite wrap my head around it being so light so late at night.
It does make it hard to sleep - and it just kept staying lighter and lighter every night we were there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
More great pics! Interesting about the Skeeter racket. I wish they'd had them when I lived there!
Lou ordered two Rackets when we got back to Maine - the Executioner model Fortunately, we haven't had to use them too often.
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Wednesday, June 12th: Day 4, Part 1 of the Land Tour - Aren't We Tired of Seeing that Mountain?
(I debated on posting another update today, since the boards were down for so long, but I'm so close to finishing, I want to get this done! Apologies to folks who may be trying to keep up)
We packed our bags the night before, in case the weather was bad and we were re-routed to the early bus run. Fortunately, that didn't happen and we slept in until 7am. After breakfast and check-out, we were picked up and taken to the Air Strip for our 8:30am flight. Lou had also requested a fly-by of Denali, so we got to do a bit more sightseeing.
You can see how clear it is today - here is Mr. Not-Grumpy-Bear-Today:
You might have wondered why I included this rather boring photo in my update yesterday - this is yesterday's view as we lifted off the runway:
What a difference a day makes ...
We had a full on view of Denali today - it was an interesting comparison to yesterday's viewing with all the clouds:
We did a fairly thorough fly by of Denali, but I won't repeat many of the photos, since it was much the same as yesterday, although we didn't see any base camps or climbers:
We had much better views of the mountains below Denali today, and I have to say - I was stunned:
Coming down to the Park Entrance and the Train Depot, we got a good view of the Shuttle Bus Parking lot:
The landing strip is literally right next to the train tracks. It was fun to stop in the middle of the tracks to take a photo, as we walked through the Depot and up to the Visitor's Center.
I was happy to have a chance to see the Visitor's Center. It's not a large one, but I found tons of interesting information and exhibits.
I've read some complaints from people that the Center doesn't have "Real" animals in the exhibits. That would be "real/ as in dead / stuffed" animals. I found the life-sized models to be a refreshing change, and just as informative.
I most enjoyed the section that talked about the early days in the park. There was also a good movie.
Seeing the can of Prince Albert brought back good memories. I remember when my Dad used to roll his own, and joke about Prince Albert living in the red can ...
After seeing lots in the Visitor's Center, we made our way to the Gift Shop, and then sat outside as we enjoyed a latte:
It was now time to pick up our checked bags, and mosey over to the Train Depot to start the next phase of our journey - onwards to Anchorage.
The differing views on take-off are very striking! It's great that the flight allowed for more beautiful views of the mountains. Couldn't ask for a clearer day! The photos of the foothills are amazing. I agree with you about the models of the animals vs. the poor taxidermied specimens. Much less upkeep, too. I remember all the Prince Albert jokes and prank phone calls, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?".... simpler days!!
Absolutely beautiful amazing shots of the mountains & Denali!!!! Looks so peaceful! I think I would have opted for the flight back as well, although those little planes scare me!
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Amazing "skeeter rackets!" I got a chuckle out of your moose poop picture. Of course, I'm the aunt who had her niece and nephew hold shellacked giraffe poop. Your second viewing of Denali was impressive and the mountains below it just added to my sense of awe. I showed this update to Luke to remind him that this is somewhere I really want to go one day.
It's wonderful you were able to see that beautiful mountain with it being so clear. The visitor's center looks great too! I don't remember that. I'm sure if they had one when I was there, they didn't serve lattes. Nice!
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I loved all the shots of the climbers and I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who spots things in photos after the event... 
Looks like a wonderful tour, very 
to see base camp and climbers. As Laurie said, it does help with scale. Those climbers were quite close together. A great start to the day.
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Pixie Dust
Beautiful lodge! 
I hate bugs! I would not have dealt well with all of the mosquitos around 
PassPorter Guide Author
Of course, I'm the aunt who had her niece and nephew hold shellacked giraffe poop. Your second viewing of Denali was impressive and the mountains below it just added to my sense of awe. I showed this update to Luke to remind him that this is somewhere I really want to go one day. 
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