So, let's see. We flew Continental, which I have to say was a very nice airline despite their irritating policy of basically charging for luggage by the pound. It was the first time in ages that we all got seated together on a majority of our flights, and the one leg where it couldn't be fixed all three employees were incredibly apologetic and went out of their way to help with other stuff. So, yay.
We left DC at a very civilized hour of the afternoon and said goodbye to NeighborGirl, who dropped us off before heading back to college for the year. Sniff. We love NeighborGirl. Dulles has finally opened its underground shuttle from the main airport to the gates, so that was something new and improved. We flew from Dulles to Houston, from Houston to Seattle and from Seattle to Anchorage -- and the layovers weren't even that bad. It was distressing to be in the Seattle airport at 9 p.m. and see absolutely every food place already locked down for the night, but we muddled through. The kid was sterling on all legs of the flight, and the plane out of Seattle was so empty that we each could have had our own row in which to stretch out and sleep. The kid took advantage of this, I stayed up to watch a movie and NYAB dozed and read. We got to Anchorage around 11:30 or so -- and that airport was blazing with activity -- everything open, all lights on, it was sort of incongruous with the place we'd just left.
We got a cab to our hotel -- the Inlet Tower (nice enough rooms but I definitely do not recommend their restaurant -- the food is eh, it's all buffet, and the way you pay is very confusing -- there's some sort of voucher system in place with Alaska Tours, I guess, so you can't just sign your room number and then our waitress got sort of torqued that we were going to pay with cash.) We stumbled in and basically crashed immediately. Next morning we were picked up by a shuttle, which took us to the airport, where we got on a float plane with four other people and flew to a lodge on Big River Lake.
The YP loved the plane. He was very excited. The idea of taking off and landing in the water just tickled him to pieces.
Lunch was at the lodge. I had a banger of a headache so I didn't eat, but the food was a bit outre for my tastes -- some kind of tomato fish soup paired with something that I think might have been potato salad but looked like dog food. The kid requested a peanut butter sandwich, and that came out looking right, although he sniffed at it because it was crunchy peanut butter. Hee. Can't imagine where he got his picky eating tendencies! Instead, he and I went out to the deck of the lodge and he chased birds while I sat with my eyes shut and waited for the aspirin to kick in. When the others were done with lunch, we all piled into a pontoon boat and took off around the lake.
This was the first bear we saw. I figured this would also be the last bear we saw, and that was my best shot at seeing any wildlife for the day.
I was wrong!
Bears are cool, man. We basically sailed around for several hours looking for animals and mostly relaxing and listening to the quiet. We saw a waterfall where salmon were bashing themselve to bits trying to go upriver -- not realizing it was all rocks and a fairly precipitous drop. It depressed me; it reminded me to some degree of my job and how we work very hard to do things without any clear picture of whether we are trying to go up a river to better water or trying to climb a rocky waterfall that will be the end of us.
We also saw some trumpeter swans and their babies, though it is hard to see here.
The other really cool thing on this outing was the guide took us to this hydroponic masterpiece -- it was basically a floating pile of grass and moss and stuff, and when you hopped off the boat and walked around in it, it was like being on a giant waterbed.
Unfortunately, it was also very wet and dirty, and your feet squished down so you were wet up to your ankles, so the idea of rolling or jumping around much was -- well, squelched.
After a day of this, we flew back to Anchorage, on another float plane, with another set of headphones and mic. This was probably the kid's worst performance of the trip because he would NOT. SHUT. UP! Worse, he was up with the pilot and NYAB and I were sitting behind him so we couldn't really make him understand what was appropriate yammering and what was not until he'd already yammered. But it was a fairly short flight, and once we landed we had a long discussion about abusing the equipment, and it appeared to sink in since he was much better after that.
Once we got back and a bit freshened up, NYAB's brother Gary met us. He'd been in Wasilla for a month filling a slot for his company and doing MRIs on people. He said it had rained pretty much every single day he'd been there, and this was borne out by my friend Joan when we all met up with her and her squeeze for dinner that night. Joan recommended a steak place called Club Paris, and I have to tell you, Joan knows what she is talking about. That place was amazing. The people were nice, they got the orders right, the food was INCREDIBLE. And the company was charming. It was so good we tried to go back before our departing flight, but it had canceled lunch hours for the holiday.
Next morning we ditched breakfast at the restaurant and NYAB went to pick up our rental SUV. We stopped at Target to buy some stuff we didn't bring with us (a cooler, some hair bands, peanut butter, etc.) and then went to meet his brother in Wasilla, so we could caravan to Denali. It was a lovely drive. Gorgeous. Also, there is a publication called Milepost for Alaska, that basically tells you what is along every inch of every highway in the state. I love this thing, I have to tell you. The only time it failed us was when it recommended a great place for lunch and as near as we could tell that place had already closed for the season for a while. Instead we had lunch at Panorama Pizza Pub. Not bad, and very laid back and comfortable. The YP worked on his foosball skills.
In Denali, we stayed at the first of many Princess lodges. It's interesting, these places. For one thing, they are quite nice, though the "lodginess" varies with the particular place you are. For another, almost everyone staying there appears to be retired. I think for the most part we were the youngest group around by at least 15 years, and it was so rare to see other children around that the YP struck up excited conversations with every single one he met.
Next installment, Denali, Eating, Fairbanks. I don't know if I'll be able to continue the alphabet titles after that, but we'll see. Nothing coming this weekend, however -- we are off on another camping excursion to Gettysburg. (All this nature business seems to have struck a chord -- at least until the snow flies.)
You took some great shots, and make me want to visit Alaska now!
Posted by: cosmiccamper | September 11, 2010 at 12:43 PM