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Sadly we left Denali National Park today in a light rain and low cloud cover. We knew immediately we would not be seeing "Denali", but were not too disappointed as we had seen and had many shots of it on our last trip here in 2015. The drive towards Anchorage had slowly improving weather with full sun by the time we had hit Willow. After a stop for propane, we have gone through more than usual on this trip due to the low temperatures, we continued through Anchorage and hit the Seward Highway. This road is know for it's scenic, historical and recreational resources, and has been given a triple designation: Natioanl Forest Scenic Byway, All-American Road and Alaska Scenic Byway. It follows the Northshore of Turnagain Arm through Chugach State Park and Chugach National Forest, and has panoramic views of the south shore and the Kenai Peninsula. It is bounded to the east by the Gulf of Alaska, and to the West by Cook Inlet. It is one of the most scenic roads you will ever see. Upon arriving in Portage, we drove to the visitors center that was located at the head of Portage Lake. Truly a stunning setting,
the lake is surrounded by snow covered mountains with three glaciers, the Byron, Middle and Portage. There were still some icebergs floating in the lake, and the water was a beautiful shade of blue. After taking some photos and visting the center, we headed back to our campground, Portgage Valley RV Park. The last time we were at this campground, 2015, it was raining quite heavily and there was no visibility. Today when we drove in we were shocked by the beauty that we encountered. The park is surrounded by mountains and a small stream along with three small pond. The temperature in this area was also considerable higher, so off came the warm clothing for some lighter short sleeved shirts and pants. Ray grabbed his fishing rod and went fishing in a near by pond where he caught three small trout
Not long after settling in the three couples from Cedar Hammock arrived and parked along side of us. We quickly set up our chairs for cocktail hour and began sharing our day's stories. Kurt, the park manager, light a fire in the yurt and we decided to more the party there for a while. Dinner tonight was
pork chops on the grill which Ray prepared, which by the way were delicious, and then we, the Cunningham's and the Greeley's left for a walk to the base of the avalanche shoot. After reaching the snow Ray and I proceeded to make snow angels. The snow was quite packed, and I am afraid my choice of footwear, flip flops, may not have been appropriate. We then walked back to our RV's, bid everyone a good night, and after this blog posting will be heading to bed. Nights are really strange now as it truly never gets dark. If it wasn't for exhaustion you would never know it was time to call it quits.
Miles - 296
Total miles - 4751
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Tot: 0.053s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 32; dbt: 0.0263s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
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ann and phil
non-member comment
hope you are getting our notes. I think today's photos top them all. just beautiful against the snow. continue to enjoy. love Ann