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2010 alaska

Day 44: Friday, July 16th Talkeetna to Anchorage

We had our latest start this morning yet.  We didn’t get out of our tent until 9:30. That meant after touring around the tiny, but quaint town of Talkeetna we didn’t hit The Parks Highway until 11:45.  Talkeetna was the town the television show Northern Exposure was based on.  It wasn’t filmed there, but it was based on the town.  I really never watched the show, so I couldn’t make any exciting connections.  We visited the National Park Visitors Center where mountaineers must have a briefing prior to climbing Mt. McKinley.

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2010 alaska

Day 37: Friday, July 9th Creamer's Field, Discovery River Boat

We had an adventure packed day.  Our first adventure was to hike two miles at Creamer’s Field, a migratory bird refuge.  Scott’s cousin’s family met us out there. Brooke loved having someone to run at the field with and play with at the playground they shared with us.  Besides having a beautiful walk and playing on a playground near the field, we were able to see some cranes.  The temperature was a little steamy, especially in the sun, so the kids were having a tough time walking.  Once they had some snacks, water, and shade they were back to smiling status.

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2010 alaska

Day 43: Thursday, July 15th

We had a beautiful and mostly quiet campsite in some BLM, or Bureau of Land Management, land.  That means a free place for us to sleep.  Which is a nice change since we spent $160 for the last three days stay in Denali.  It cost $40 a person to ride the bus in the park, the kids were free. The park entrance fee is $20.  Then to camp it cost the standard $20 a night.  It was definitely worth it, even though we had rain two out of the three nights there, but it is also nice to find a quiet piece of free land.  We are currently driving along the Denali “Highway” (it is 85% gravel and 15% actual pavement).  There are supposed to be some spectacular views of Mt. McKinley and the surrounding mountains along this route.  Unfortunately, the clouds are making it difficult to see twenty feet in front of the van.  We knew this was a possibility though.  Due to the clouds only 1/3 of the people who come to see Mt. McKinley or Denali actually get to see it in its entirety.  We get to consider ourselves in that group, even if it was only for a few hours.

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2010 alaska

Day 42: Wednesday, July 14th Leaving Denali

Happy Anniversary to us.  Scott proposed ten years ago and we married nine years ago.  We will have to postpone our romantic dinner together.  Instead Scott cooked up some sweet and sour chicken in the visitor’s center parking lot and we ate inside the visitor’s center restaurant.

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2010 alaska

Day 41: Tuesday, July 13th Denali National Park

By the time Scott and I had both packed our backpacks and strapped on our helmets, we were already exhausted and we hadn’t even done any riding yet. As any parent can tell you, preparing for any trip is almost more exhausting than the actual trip, but not quite as fun.  The kids were a little congested, so when Scott’s alarm went off at 5:30 I convinced him to turn it off and let the cuties sleep.  He had wanted to get on the 6:40 bus to see some wildlife.

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2010 alaska

Day 38: Our Stowaway Part II

Scott called me over to the driver’s side of the van and asked if I heard squeaking.  We determined that there was in fact squeaking coming from somewhere inside the frame of the van.  Under the step to get into the driver’s seat was a surprise.  It was sad enough that we had to get rid of our stowaway, but this just broke my heart.  Their eyes weren’t even open and they could barely move around.  Needless to say, we set another trap, but there have been no other signs or squeaks of hidden stowaways.

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