Anchorage Away

We didn't have much on the schedule for today, so that gave us the opportunity to explore the area around Anchorage at a more leisurely pace. From Wasilla, it took less than 30 minutes to drive to Chugach State Park. We paid the $5 day use fee at the kiosk in the parking lot of the trailhead and started the hike (~1 mile, one way) to Thunder Bird Falls.

100-foot elevation gain in the first 0.1-mile

Northern Exposure

As we were getting ready to check out of our room at the Denali Lakeview Inn this morning, we watched a moose stroll across the yard.

"Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat..."

Into the Wild

Because our Tundra Wilderness Tour wasn't scheduled to depart until 3:00PM, we had more than half a day to explore Denali National Park on our own. So, we took our time getting out the door this morning.

Another view of Otto Lake from our room at the inn

The Tall One

The original plan for today was to check out of the hotel, grab breakfast from Biscuitclub in downtown Anchorage right when it opened at 9:00AM (biscuits and gravy is my fave!), and then hit the road for the 4+ hour drive to Denali National Park. But after we parked the car (and paid in the ParkMobile app), we saw the sign on the door that they were closed for Labor Day weekend. 🤦🏻‍♀️ At least we'll have another chance to try it out when we come back to Anchorage in a few days...

Flights of Fancy

Due to high demand for the 16 rooms at Brooks Lodge inside Katmai National Park, they hold a random lottery for the opportunity to make reservations. So just for grins, in December 2023 I submitted entries for the four of us for the *2025* season, requesting up to three nights for any available dates during the peak times of July or early September to see the bears of "Fat Bear Week" fame. They said that having a flexible schedule would improve our chances of getting a reservation.

I'm not sure exactly how many entries were received for the 2025 lottery, but there were 3649 for the previous year's drawing, with more than 2500 parties ending up on the waitlist. When I found out in January 2024 that we lucked out and were given September 4-7, 2025, I immediately plunked down our deposit and started planning an Alaska vacation around those dates.  

So excited that after more than a year and a half we're actually starting our trip!

My Kind of Town

Friday, April 25

After saying goodbye to the aunties, I loaded up my lone suitcase (R took the other two bags when he flew home yesterday) and headed back to O'Hare to return the car. It was pouring rain when I got to the gas station (figures!) in Park Ridge, but I managed to fill up and stay fairly dry, thanks to my spiffy new raincoat! From the Multi-Modal Facility, I rode the tram back to Terminal 2 and then walked to the Blue Line station to take the train downtown. $5 for the CTA vs. $50 for an Uber - no brainer!