Day Fourteen – Anchorage - September 14, 2009

I wanted to get up and out at the crack of dawn to catch some sunrise shots. Of course, as usual, I’m a little late. That bed felt so good, especially spending 7 nights in a Cruise Ship’s bed! It’s ok, but not like home. When the alarm went off, I did look out the window and saw this.

And was hoping we will be able to see Denali one more time. That would make it 3 times during our trip. We loaded up our car and headed out. Anchorage is approximately 200 miles from Denali. A long, but beautiful drive. We had periods of thick fog then clear skies and it was crisp and fresh outside.

We stopped at a local joint along the side of the road for breakfast. I know, we should have learned from our experience yesterday, and we did hesitate, but went in.

We walked in and it was a little general store with a kitchen in the back. A little old lady was behind the counter at the kitchen. We ordered some eggs, bacon and toast. Fantastic!

A gentleman came in and commented on Ray’s hat, it said ‘Porsche’ and started talking about cars. Eventually the conversation turned into his life story about living in the area. He’s a native Alaskan and had quite the history of his ancestors. He still lives in a shack on the land with no electricity and running water – but he does have a couple of cabins with electricity and running water. He just prefers to live the way he does. He owns 60 acres of land along a river that faces Denali. He claims he has one of the best views of Denali around and enjoys a hot cup of coffee early in the morning, on his porch, watching the sun slowly light up Denali. Man, what a life! He invited us to stay on his property next time we’re in town. He says “you can always find me here if you come by next time”. I guess it’s where he likes to have his breakfast.

We spent about an hour there at the gas station/general store/kitchen place.

Prior to our stop, we’ve been unable to see Denali due to all the fog and clouds and figured it wouldn’t pop out at all before we reached Anchorage. We saw someone walking along the Highway and I wondered where he/she had came from. We didn’t see a broken down car and it was a pretty lonely stretch of the Highway. As we passed, I looked in the mirror to see if it was a guy or gal and saw this.

I said to Ray “look at your rear-view mirror”. It was Denali in all her glory. We pulled over and grabbed a few more shots.



That is one majestic mountain! I thought Mt. Lassen in California was tall when we were up on its summit. After she disappeared over the hill, it was mostly a quiet ride enjoying a few more sights.


Then I saw this street sign.

Yes, “Jean” is my middle name. With the name “Debra” if your middle name is not “Ann” its “Jean”, I guarantee it! I wanted to take that home with me. I’ve never seen my first and middle name on a street sign. Ray was being a butt and said “No”. So, I left it there.

As we were heading into Anchorage, a train goes flying by. Loved the contract of the blue and yellow train against the fall colors.

Arriving in Anchorage, I met up with a longtime friend I knew since high school. I spent my last year of high school in Germany and met a couple of great people there I still keep in touch with to this day. Peggy is one of them. We manage to see each other every 5 to 7 years. Peggy moved to Alaska about 8 years ago. I may be off by a couple of years, but I remember her saying back in our high school days that her dream was to live in Alaska. And she loves it.

We had dinner at one of their favorite Restaurants called Gwennie’s. Great seafood there. We met her boyfriend, Greg and had a fantastic time with them.

After dinner, Peggy took Ray and I over to the stables where she and a friend run a horse riding business. Peggy loves her horses and you can really see the bond they have with her. She also showed us the trails they ride on and hopefully next time we come to Anchorage, we’ll be able to head out on the trails with her.

There was this sheep following us around who’s more of a pet than your typical farm animal. Pretty smart guy/gal. I can’t remember which. I was taking a few pictures of him/her, until he/she looked at me as if to say “Do you mind”.

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Across from the stables were about 12 dogs, all sled dogs. There was one particular dog with such an explosive personality who wanted to play fetch with a rock so bad. This one stuck out from all the other dogs tied up. It had ice blue eyes. Erie and gorgeous all at the same time. Such a sweetheart. They all were.

After about an hour there we headed over to a club that Peggy and Greg like to go to. Greg is quite the pool shark and this particular evening was a tournament. We enjoyed catching up with Peggy and watching Greg kicked some butt!

And before we hit the road, Ray and I had another Alaskan Amber! Good tasting beer!

Our flight took off at 10:55pm and headed home. It was great to get some solid sleep in our own bed again.This was a fantastic vacation and we plan to do it all over again in 2011.

This time we’ll plan to spend more time in Seward and Anchorage. We’d also like to go to Kenai Fjords National Park and Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park in Alaska. Supposed to be some spectacular mountain scenery at Wrangell as well.