Wow, another post already! Well, we had 2 days of rain so I had some time on my hands.....

I thought I show you some pictures of the hotel. 

There are 3 old Alaska train cars on the premises, one of which houses the lobby.

The 4  'barracks', as one of the guests called them, hold the rooms, 48 in total. They're just your standard motel 6 type rooms but neat and very clean.

One of James' jobs this week was to hang the freshly planted planter-boxes that came back from the nursery;  one of mine this summer is to water them.

It's been 2 weeks since we arrived and we're pretty much settled in. We love our site!

It's away from everybody, the view is awesome and the moose are walking right up to the RV as this one did one evening:

To see 2 hanging out together is rather unusual:

James is becoming a real 'mountain man' ; here he is chopping down a dead tree that blocked the view from our side window. Lots of  'tim-b-e-e-e-er' going on off course......

After driving some guests to the entrance of Denali National Park, some 12 miles away, we did some exploring ourselves and checked out the visitor center.

Here you can learn more about the park by speaking with park rangers, viewing the park film, "Heartbeats of Denali," and exploring an exhibit area.

We watched the movie which is about 20 minutes long, and is shown throughout the day on the hour and half-hour. It is a non-narrated film about the various seasons, landscapes and wildlife of the park.

Afterwards we checked out the displays which are very well done and informative.

Many Ranger-led hikes begin from the Denali Visitor Center and most of the trails in Denali can be accessed from the center. Definitely something we'll do sometime this summer.

On our way back to the hotel we also checked out 'The Village' just outside the Park. Also known as 'glitter gulch ' this is basically a tourist 'strip' or mall, full of souvenir shops and places where to book your park adventures like Jeep tours, fly-overs, rafting, etc.

There are also 3 very big, and very expensive, hotels, an outrageously expensive grocery store and quite a few restaurants like the 'world famous' (?) Salmon Bake.

And how about these furry 'undies'?

Last Sunday we were invited to attend the Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner Theater show at the McKinley Chalet Resort, an authentic, log-paneled roadhouse.

The show is a mix of storytelling, music and humor giving a taste of old-time Alaska as you follow the true story of Fannie Quigley in a Gold Rush adventure in early 1900s Alaska.

 

Before you enter the roadhouse you're welcomed with a song by the whole cast:

During the meal the honky-ton pianist was playing and several performers sang old Alaska folk songs.

The food was excellent and all you could eat; ribs, Alaska salmon, corn, beans, potatoes and a blackberry cobbler for desert.
With cream!!

The show was much better than I expected, the story and humor a little corny, but the actors were very talented and had beautiful voices!

Other than tipping the waiter the evening was offered to us for free, compliments of the Chalet, so we'll promote this evening to our guests. Not bad, since 'normal' admission is $63 pp!

Wednesday night we enjoyed another one of such a 'complementary' evening when we went river rafting with the Denali Outdoor Center.

(normally a $87 pp adventure)

Charming .....

                                      
Since glacial river water temperatures are very cold we were decked out in a 'dry' suit that close real tight around your neck and wrists with latex gaskets, extra boots over the feet that are attached to the suit, swim vests and helmets.
Suits like these, unlike a wet suit, you wear over your clothes and are designed specifically for protection against cold-water immersion in a whitewater river.

The glacier fed Nenana River is known as 'a river with a swift current and large volume whitewater' and it offers spectacular scenery as it traverses the Alaska Range and creates a natural eastern boundary for Denali National Park.
The trip began at the entrance to Denali National Park and journeyed 11 river miles to Healy.

We were divided in 2 groups, each given a paddle and were informed off all kinds of safety procedures and rescue instructions, after which our guide Tim wanted to know if we all still wanted to go........
I must say it all sounded almost serious enough to reconsider and I was a little apprehensive getting in the raft. 

But our first rapid went very well, although we were splashed pretty good, so I started to relax enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the Nenana Canyon.

According to Tim the rapids were definitely a Class IV at the moment due to a good snow run-off and the rain of the last couple of days.
During the roughly 1,5 hour we encountered over 10 major Class III to IV rapids with names like "Razorback," "Iceworm," "Cable Car," "Royal Flush," "Coffee Grinder" and "Trainwreck"!

I must say we had a blast, and a good workout, and to my astonishment stayed completely dry! 

The weather was totally cooperative this evening, there was a very unusual warm wind blowing through the canyon that made for a very comfortable ride/float? and the perfect temperature for the great BBQ afterwards that the Outdoor Center treated us to!

The mosquitoes tried to eat us alive though which seems to be inevitable as soon as the wind and rain ease up and the temperature rises!

We're going to get us something that's called a 'therma-cell' when we go for our next grocery shopping trip to Fairbanks on Thursday.

Hunters use them when they have to protect the meat from a killing while they're dressing it in the field.

It's a small device that emits a vapor that deters bugs (mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-ums) up to a 15x15 foot zone. We'll see!

They bother the animals too. We invented this for Merlin. It's one of those little nets you put over a dish at a BBQ! 

He worries me a little. He has lost quite some weight, drinks a lot and pees lot.  Sounds familiar doesn't it? I sure hope it's not his kidneys but the symptoms are very similar to te ones Felix displayed when he suffered from kidney failure.

I googled around a bit and found 2 other diseases with similar problems; diabetes or hyperthyroid.

We're going to the see the Vet today so keep your fingers crossed!

OK, two more moose pictures! To show just how close they come!