Is it June already?

The past few days have brought many new sites & experiences. Not that the days prior hadn't, it's just that these days are the most recent and mark the end of the roadtrip. Supersube made it all the way to Anchorage. The journey has totalled 4425 miles to date, talk about fast tracking a vehicle's depreciation!

Apparently a picture is worth a thousand words. In light of that, I'll take it easy on myself and make a long story short. Hang on tight! On Wednesday my Mom & I left sunny Fairbanks for our "D" Day. Denali, that is. Below is what we found.

We made a detour to Talkeetna to wait out the rain. The goods are odd there. More about that at a later time.

Waiting out the rain worked, so we went for a hike. Actually a bit more than your average hike. I took my mom on her first ever backpacking trip. Happy initially, let's see how it plays out...We encountered some obstacles.

The challenges encountered included a washed out suspension bridge. That log lying there is supposed to be supporting the bridge. The stairs aren't there, thus rock.

It only got worse. Thankfully no one was hurt in the filming of this sequence.

First things, first. We found the bathroom. Women's above. Men's below. Hmmm.

My "Taj" is so big, it hung off the platform. Despite the constant, steady rain all day we managed to not have to set up camp in the rain. The rain began just after dinner and continued until 9am. Below is the view across the lake by our campsite. We think there's a mountain out there. Keep going to find out.

I do believe this was my Mom's first "cup" of coffee in a bowl. That will teach her not to bring her own cup!

The hike up the ridge opposite Denali continued to make us work & keep our hearts a pumpin' due to the energy requirements as well as nerves. Steep, steep, not so safe section of ascent above. Stream crossing below.

We ended up turning around prematurely because of repeated fresh bear tracks (see below) and fresh moose prints and "nuggets" (see below). All that with the trail winding through dense brush with a loud creek proved too much risk.

We made it back to our remote campsite in time to see Denali emerging. (Same viewpoint across lake as cloudy, overcast shot showed previously).

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The view later that afternoon from a highway viewpoint. Score 1 for Denali State Park over the National Park. The first part of my Alaska adventure is over. Sadly, my Mom departed today. We had a wonderful trip.

My adventure continues with the next phase--a bit of alone time in Southcentral AK before returning inland to begin the internship.