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Goodbye friends!
From Healy to Whittier |
A bittersweet day today… the conclusion of an amazing week with Sara and Melora, a lifetime of memories made in just seven days and so many extraordinary experiences. The best way to start the send-off? Biscuits and gravy of course! We had breakfast in “Glitter Gulch” which is the tourist area outside of the park with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants. We chose the Black Bear Coffee House and it was the perfect way to start the day.
It was time to head into the park. It was a beautiful day outside so our fingers were crossed (and our toes too!) that we would get to see Denali, formerly known as Mt. McKinley, which is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. The cars and buses were pulled off to the side of the road which would mean one of two things… wildlife or Her. It was Her!
We were thrilled that we were able to see Denali, this was several attempts for LJ and I and it was like winning a big prize! Before leaving the park we decided to stop at the Denali Visitor Center. They had some amazing exhibits about the natural and cultural history of the area. I couldn’t get over how blue the sky was today – it was just gorgeous. Bathroom break and back on the road south!
LJ and I have been playing Clash of Clans, which is a game app that Barry and the boys are also playing, I’m new to it but surprisingly enough, we find ourselves in Willow, Alaska and see huge characters from the game on the side of the road and of course, we have to stop for photos! The place had amazing artistic carvings and… Clash of Clans! It’s called Willow Creek Studio and they are also big fans of the game.
We trekked on to Anchorage, to drop off Sara and Melora for their trip home to Massachusetts. It was an amazing week, almost 2,000 miles and many of them unpaved. You have to REALLY be friends to get through the week and I think we came through with flying colors. While on commentary video may never be public, it will be hilarious for the precious few that get to see it. Or it may only be hilarious to the four of us now that I really think about it. Nevertheless, on to the airport… and a farewell to our sweet friends.
Now we were off to the next car rental and another goodbye to Julie’s Mountaineer. This would be our smallest vehicle yet of the trip but would work fine for what we would be doing. After a quick swap and dropping off Julie’s Mountaineer back at the off-site airport parking lot, we were on our way.
We had not had a real lunch with our big breakfast but waiting to get to Whittier was going to be too late so we turned back to our Yelp app and found the Southside Bistro in Anchorage – while a bit more upscale than we realized, it was delicious!
Time to continue our journey on towards Whittier. We would be going through a tunnel to get to Whittier and it only was available the direction we were traveling once an hour. It is called the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It is used for cars, trucks, campers, and even trains! The tunnel is 2.5 miles long and one lane. I drove while LJ took video and soon we found ourselves in the beautiful Whittier. We were staying at The Inn at Whittier and it was charming! After checking in, we wanted to see more of the Inn so we decided to have some dessert in the restaurant.
LJ headed out to take some more photos around the harbor and I headed back up to bed. Tomorrow we would be taking a tour around Prince William Sound and then head to Soldotna! How many nights has it been sleeping in a new place? Seems like a lot!
LJ and Bev 