On the road again…















 On Monday the 16th we finished up our last few hours of work and made the two hour drive down to Denali for one last visit.  We tried to have our anniversary dinner at 49th State Brewing, but there last day was the 15th.  Plan B was the Princess Lodge in the town of Denali Park.  


There were still quite a few people around and we went to Grizzly Burger.  We split a Bacon Cheeseburger, curds and a salad.  The bartender informed us this was their last day and the town would pretty much shut down by Wednesday.  They all had to come into work on Tuesday and clean the place.  We knew they were a big operation, but didn’t realize they have 1,300 employees there for Princess and Holland America.  Wow.  


We stayed one free night at Riley Creek and drove into the park up to Teklanika on Tuesday.  The weather was pretty decent and Denali made an appearance for us on our way out.  The colors had already peaked and we did see one moose.  We also stopped at a high viewpoint to let the dogs out for a break.  The air smelled sweet like candy and I walked a bit out into the low red foliage.  There were still blueberries everywhere.  I quickly picked a handful of them and shared them with Katy back in the truck.  


We made it back to the camper at around 2 and decided we were going to press on.  We took the quick drive down to Talkeetna and towed the rig around town.  Quite a bit had changed since our visit in March of 2012.  We were striking out on Boondocking spots and ended up paying to park at the VFW.  We went in, bought a drink, played a few pull tabs and paid to park.  It rained all night, but it was a decent spot and quiet.  They do have electric and maybe water available for about $30 a night.  I think we paid $20 just for the spot.  


The next morning we got up and left our spot.  When deciding which way to leave, I got distracted and we drove away leaving two pressure treated leveling blocks and a yellow plastic leveling block.  This is a first for the both of us…we are usually the ones who find what people left behind.  We roamed town for a bit and stopped into a few shops.  We went back into Nagley’s which is probably the most recognizable place in town and then stopped at Alaska Wild Harvest Birch Syrup on our way south.  About 30 years ago, I tried to make it with Jesse and Joe Manning.  I think ours turned out bitter but we didn’t really know what we were doing.  

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