LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 4

Ron and I posed outside the world-renown Talkeetna Lodge before leaving Talkeetna, a sweet town, a nice place to visit, but . . . it gets BRRR COLD by mid September! The entire town closes down.




Our group left Talkeetna and boarded another glass-domed train for the little town of Denali. Views from the train were spectacular.

The two windmills above generate enough power to supply several homes with electricity. To survive in this country one must be self-sufficient.

Our train crossed the Nenana River as we chugged into Denali. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see a man fishing and a woman waving. I waved back.

View of the Nenana River Canyon from the Grande Denali Lodge.

The road with sharp switchbacks to Grande Denali Lodge curves up Sugarloaf Mountain. When tour buses meet all riders hold their breath. We spent one night here. The Lodge itself offers fine dining, a bar, a snack bar, internet hook-up, and a gift shop. Laundry facilities are available in one of the buildings; I washed and dried two loads of laundry. Each room has either two queen beds or one king, nice bath, coffee/tea, TV. Six cabins on the property are also available. As you can tell from the above picture, the views are incredible. Because of the severe winters, the Lodge closes around the middle of September.

Ron and I in the Grande Denali Lodge.

While strolling through the town of Denali, I saw this dog outside a shop. I looked up to see what had caught his attention.



The squirrel on the wood carving is real. He was watching the dog.



Intrigued, I watched the dog watch the squirrel who watched the dog. Neither animal moved. I imagine the drama ended without, well, without any drama at all!