Here, on the left, is the motel we stayed in, the same one Chris and I had stayed in on the kayak trip.  Chris and I sat on that very curb waiting to be picked up.

Saturday we knocked around Anchorage for awhile, including this museum where Joy and this moose communed.

The group.  In the background is the Anchorage Hilton where I stayed during my mid-70's trip, where Chris and Perrin had a nice but deadly blue drink called Glacier Ice before their Kayak trip in 2005, where Chris and I celebrated with Glacier Ices after our Kayak trip last year, and as you'll see, we dragged the Yosts a week later.

Later that day we headed north to Talkeetna on the Parks highway that goes from Anchorage to Fairbanks.  This is Mt. McKinley, also known as Denali, from a viewpoint up towards Talkeetna.  We were lucky that it was "out", as people around frequently-clouded-in peaks are prone to say.  Denali, at 20,320 feet, is the tallest mountain in North America.  But to put it in perspective, Mt. Everest and a bunch of others are over a mile higher.  There were a lot of sightseeing planes buzzing around.

This is bustling downtown Talkeetna - really!

What a great store this is.  Genuine.  Remember it!  I'll be referring to it later during the cruise narrative.

Below, the intrepid travelers.

After checking in to our motel, we went to see the kennels of Jeff King who has won the Iditarod four times.  This is a nine day old husky pup (the one yawning, that is).  Note the sun.  It's about 8pm.

  It's a big operation - he has about 80 dogs.  When he was giving us his opening talk, he said he can get them all barking and howling by making this strange sound - and he demonstrated. 

Ever heard 80 Husky's bark and howl?  Blew out the batteries on my hearing aids!

That's Jeff and his lead dog.

He has a slick but very enjoyable operation - even has busses to pick up people at a nearby lodge and bring him to his kennels (and home).  He gave us a very informative and humorous presentation.  His wife does an interesting blog during the race, http://huskyhomestead.com.

This is a typical sled and driver outfit.  The race goes from Anchorage (sort of, Anchorage is just a ceremonial start - the real one is in Wasilla a bit north) to Nome on the Bering Sea, over 1100 miles which they do in ten days or so.

Monday we took a shuttle bus round trip to Fish Creek in Denali National Park - and never saw Mt. McKinley, which is typical.  You can't drive more than a few miles into the park without a special permit.  You can get out and hike any time and pick up another bus, but this is Alaska and you better know what you're doing.  Saw lots of animals, but not close enough to get good pictures.

Denali wildlife, ex-wildlife, and looking like will soon be ex-wildlife.

Dall's Sheep. 

This was as much as I could blow them up - to us they were little white dots on a distant hill.  It was interesting how excited we all got when we saw little white dots on a distant hill, or any other wild life.  Someone would say, "I see a moose!" and we would all lurch to that side of the bus.  Then someone would say "Dall's sheep!" and we would all lurch to the other side.

It was fun!

An Eagle's nest.  Lots of Eagles in Alaska.

This is the view from our window where we stayed on the Parks Highway just north of the Denali park.  Ho hum, another spectacular view!  This was about 11pm after we got back from the Kennels.  Joy had enough light to quilt by the window.  At 11.  At night.