Alaska trip, day ten
Day Ten--McKinley to Anchorage
Here I am in the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, staying overnight before my flight home tomorrow morning. Judging by the guidebooks, the Captain Cook is The premier hotel in Anchorage. My room is comfortable enough, but the elevators reek of mildew. There was a slight mildew odor in my bathroom after my shower, too, although I hadn't smelled anything before. Anchorage is a sizeable city, although not huge, except in area--the municipality is about the size of Delaware. It looks a lot like cities everywhere, but it does have its unique aspects. While I was browsing one of the downtown curio shops, I caught a bit of the local news on TV. It's not every traffic report that includes a moose sighting on an exit ramp.
It was a very early morning for me, because I had to catch the 7:00 shuttle from the McKinley Princess Lodge to Talkeetna for my jetboat tour on the Talkeetna and Susitna rivers. They and the Chulitna come together near the town of Talkeetna, but they are "braided" and cross several times before that. The transition from the Susitna River back to the Talkeetna on our return was marked by a noticeable change in water color. The jetboat tour was an interesting and enjoyable couple of hours. It included a brief nature walk and a look at a trapper's cabin and a mock-up of an Athabascan fish camp. We also saw some old moose droppings by the path. (Talkeetna has an annual Moose Dropping Festival in the summer. No actual moose are dropped. Instead, people compete to drop droppings from a crane onto a target.) Along the river, we stopped several times to look at eagles on and near their nests. One eagle returned with twigs and began working on her nest. Another flew off while we watched and returned shortly thereafter with a rabbit or other small animal which it dropped off at its nest for the eaglets. I think I got some good pictures. There was also a beaver lodge built against and into a bank. Beavers are nocturnal, so these were busy sleeping.
I had wanted to take a float trip on the river instead, but that sounded as if it would be kind of miserable in the rain. Six weeks ago when I booked this tour, I had no idea what the weather would be like, so I opted for the covered jetboat. It was a wise decision. I had a good time, and the weather was kind of iffy. No actual rain while we were out, but before and right after. Because of the rain, I decided to take the shuttle directly back to the lodge after the tour instead of exploring the tiny town of Talkeetna for an hour. This way, I got lunch, too, some excellent salmon chowder.
I never did see Mt. McKinley, unfortunately; the weather was just too bad.
This afternoon, we drove the almost three hours down to Anchorage. (I've spent a lot of time in coaches the last few days; I'm glad I decided on the itinerary that included a train trip up instead of another coach. The train was much more comfortable.) I arrived in Anchorage too late to go to the museum downtown, because it closes at 6:00. I could have gotten there by then but would not have had time to see much. So I walked around a little and had some dinner--at the downtown mall food court. Yes, there are plenty of other places around here, but I just wasn't in the mood. It's been a long trip, and I'm tired. I've had a wonderful time, but I will be very glad to get home. Unfortunately, I have to spend almost 10 hours on planes first, plus airport time.
Here I am in the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, staying overnight before my flight home tomorrow morning. Judging by the guidebooks, the Captain Cook is The premier hotel in Anchorage. My room is comfortable enough, but the elevators reek of mildew. There was a slight mildew odor in my bathroom after my shower, too, although I hadn't smelled anything before. Anchorage is a sizeable city, although not huge, except in area--the municipality is about the size of Delaware. It looks a lot like cities everywhere, but it does have its unique aspects. While I was browsing one of the downtown curio shops, I caught a bit of the local news on TV. It's not every traffic report that includes a moose sighting on an exit ramp.
It was a very early morning for me, because I had to catch the 7:00 shuttle from the McKinley Princess Lodge to Talkeetna for my jetboat tour on the Talkeetna and Susitna rivers. They and the Chulitna come together near the town of Talkeetna, but they are "braided" and cross several times before that. The transition from the Susitna River back to the Talkeetna on our return was marked by a noticeable change in water color. The jetboat tour was an interesting and enjoyable couple of hours. It included a brief nature walk and a look at a trapper's cabin and a mock-up of an Athabascan fish camp. We also saw some old moose droppings by the path. (Talkeetna has an annual Moose Dropping Festival in the summer. No actual moose are dropped. Instead, people compete to drop droppings from a crane onto a target.) Along the river, we stopped several times to look at eagles on and near their nests. One eagle returned with twigs and began working on her nest. Another flew off while we watched and returned shortly thereafter with a rabbit or other small animal which it dropped off at its nest for the eaglets. I think I got some good pictures. There was also a beaver lodge built against and into a bank. Beavers are nocturnal, so these were busy sleeping.
I had wanted to take a float trip on the river instead, but that sounded as if it would be kind of miserable in the rain. Six weeks ago when I booked this tour, I had no idea what the weather would be like, so I opted for the covered jetboat. It was a wise decision. I had a good time, and the weather was kind of iffy. No actual rain while we were out, but before and right after. Because of the rain, I decided to take the shuttle directly back to the lodge after the tour instead of exploring the tiny town of Talkeetna for an hour. This way, I got lunch, too, some excellent salmon chowder.
I never did see Mt. McKinley, unfortunately; the weather was just too bad.
This afternoon, we drove the almost three hours down to Anchorage. (I've spent a lot of time in coaches the last few days; I'm glad I decided on the itinerary that included a train trip up instead of another coach. The train was much more comfortable.) I arrived in Anchorage too late to go to the museum downtown, because it closes at 6:00. I could have gotten there by then but would not have had time to see much. So I walked around a little and had some dinner--at the downtown mall food court. Yes, there are plenty of other places around here, but I just wasn't in the mood. It's been a long trip, and I'm tired. I've had a wonderful time, but I will be very glad to get home. Unfortunately, I have to spend almost 10 hours on planes first, plus airport time.