June 20, 2024
I got up at 5:30 because we had to put our suitcases out for collection by 6am. We finished getting ready and walked to Snow City which is one of the only restaurants open for breakfast that is not in a hotel ($$$). We got there at 6:27 and the doors opened at 6:30 so it was perfect timing. The weather was chilly. We got seated quickly in a corner and ordered our food. I had scrambled egg and cheese in an English muffin and Tammy had fried eggs and bacon. We drank a lot of water, too.
After a leisurely breakfast, we walked to the Polar Bear Outlet and bought more as water for the trip. We went back to our room and finished getting ready before heading down to the Holland America office at 8:45, as requested. When we got there, it was a busy place. There were four tour buses leaving that morning. They told us that our bus wouldn’t leave until 9:30 (not 9:00 as we’d been told). We went and sat on chairs by the bathroom to wait. Soon it was time to load the bus. We found seats on the right side of the bus. I sat next to the window. Our driver was really nice and had a good sense of humor. He talked quite a lot throughout the drive giving us information about things we passed and the history of Denali and things to do there. We saw a moose on the wrong side of the moose fence, but she squeezed through an opening to the moose side. We saw a sign that announces the total number of moose hit on that stretch of road since July 1. They were up to 270. Our driver told us that there is a call list and when a moose is hit, they start calling people on the list and whoever picks up first and can come get the moose and clean up the road gets dibs. He said that the meat makes a huge difference for people who might not otherwise have enough food for the winter.
We stopped for boxed lunches at a Princess resort with a great view of Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley). I hada veggie wrap and Tammy had a turkey wrap. We both had Oreos, kettle chips, and freezing cold water. The water bottles they give us are made of aluminum. Tammy and I ate inside because it was chilly and breezy and then went outside to take pictures. Look for Denali between us in the first picture. 👇🏼
We went to the bathroom and it was time to get back on the bus. We saw a black bear crossing the road. It squeezed under the guardrail as we passed. We saw a funny building called The Igloo that was built as a hotel, but now you can’t stay in the upper rooms due to fire safety regulations. We drove for another two hours and made it to Denali.
It started raining when we were a half hour away, but by the time we had to go outside, it had mostly stopped. Someone from the resort came on our bus and welcomed us and then our driver passed out our packets. It took awhile for him to call us one by one. Then he drove us to where we were staying.
Our stuff had not arrived yet, but we left our backpacks and walked to the main lodge and then crossed the highway to the shops on the other side. We looked through all the shops but didn’t buy anything and then ate dinner at Prospector’s Pizzeria. We both had baked macaroni and cheese which was delicious. We met some people from Texas. The dad was a retired Baptist pastor, the mom was a retired teacher, and their daughter is an instructional coach. The restaurant was decorated with Alaskan charm.
After dinner when we went to leave, it was drizzly and cold. We used our umbrellas and walked back to our room. It was early, but we hung out for a bit and I showered. Our “room“ is actually two rooms so we each get our own! I’m sleeping in the front room (with the front door) and Tammy has the back room with the bathroom and sink in her room (which she graciously shares 😂).
I caught up on my blog before bed. Today was the summer solstice. This is how bright it was at 10:15pm right before bed:
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