Trying to Catch Denali

The group left me on the riverbank to wait for the clouds to clear while they toured Talkeetna for another hour. I met them at the Twister Creek Restaurant and Denali Brewery, where they were already well into their meal. Glenda and I ordered a wonderful jalapeño tostada. I also enjoyed a glass of their stout. We all separated and Glenda and I went across the street to Frank Lee's Roadhouse and split a big brownie with ice cream and whipped cream on it with a cup of coffee. We checked the riverbank once more, but the mountain was obscured even more than before. A quick visit to see the movie at the ranger station about the Denali mountain climbers turned out to be too late. The office had closed at 5:30 PM, about 45 minutes earlier. We boarded the bus for the Princess McKinley Wilderness Lodge and checked in an hour later, around 7:45 PM. The summit of Denali had cleared by then, though it was still quite hazy. Nevertheless, I got a couple of shots at the mountain that were better than those I took in Talkeetna. We were delighted that the room we were assigned was a mini-suite, though we had not asked for one. We got our gear in order for tomorrow's bus ride to the ship through Anchorage, where we will stop to see a wildlife preserve. We got to bed around 9:30 PM, although the daylight was still strong and the sun was high over the horizon.Read more