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Published: September 8th 2021
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A long day, but so worth it. I was to meet the Park Connection bus at 12:30 at the gas station in Girdwood. So I had time to kill in the morning and all I did was read in the cozy robe provided by the resort. Check out was 10 AM and I was hungry so I went to the grab and go place, got a salad and ate it outside. Took the Girdwood free shuttle back to the gas station to wait for the bus to arrive. This Tesoro station is super busy. Apparently it's the only gas between Anchorage and Seward so no wonder!
The bus was not full and I was able to get a set of seats to myself with good views of the Turnagain Arm. The tide was way out so no belugas, but as we got closer to Anchorage the southern end of the Alaska range came into view. The bus stopped in Anchorage for an hour and a half. Those of us who were getting back on could leave anything we wanted to in our seats to be able to reserve them for the next leg. I wandered over to the mall, found
a really cute locally made nativity set and got a brie and pear crepe. I'm glad I got food because I wouldn't eat again until 9 PM! Turns out we did not really need to save our seats. There were only about 20 people on the bus when we left Anchorage.
The driver on this second leg was different from the first and he told a lot of stupid jokes. He did point out some interesting things though. Alaska is the only state without an interstate and really only has 4 main highways. Through Anchorage it's more like a freeway with multiple lanes and exits. After that it turns into a two lane road with cross traffic and occasional towns. We were driving along and suddenly "There she is. Denali straight ahead." This was so exciting because only 30% of visitors get to see her as she's usually covered in clouds. Denali is 20,310 feet tall, the tallest mountain in North America. And she is beautiful! The bus made an unscheduled stop at a wayside so we could all get out and take pictures in case the clouds came back before we stopped in Talkeetna. Turns out, they did
not! We arrived at the one hotel in Talkeetna to drop people off and had 45 minutes to get something to eat (their cafe was closed so the only option was sit down which was busy) and enjoy the best views of Denali. It was really a miracle to see her so clearly and I'm so glad I got to be part of the 30% of visitors. Eventually we had to get back on the bus and head on towards Denali village.
The rest of the drive was really scenic. The leaves are changing and most are a vibrant yellow with some almost neon green mixed in. The fireweed is a brilliant fuschia and all the colors together are pretty amazing. The landscape got more rugged with craggy mountains and fewer trees. No wildlife was spotted but seeing Denali was such a highlight. It's hard to put into words. Awe, beauty, magnificent, breathtaking. Maybe those help explain it. She looms snowy white above everything. It's no wonder the native peoples call her "Tall One"
We finally arrived at the Denali Bluffs Lodge. Here the staff met us at the bus, gave us our room keys and directed us
where to go. The lodge is made up of a collection of buildings nestled in the trees. No hotel here has a view of the mountain. You have to stay in Talkeetna for that. I got to my room, dropped my stuff and headed to the restaurant for dinner. It was 9 PM but I was so hungry and a granola bar wasn't going to cut it. I had the fish n chips (still not better than the first night in Seward) and ate everything on the plate. Showered and was ready to get some sleep after the long, but fantastic day.
Tomorrow I have a free day and will head to Denali National Park to explore.
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