I should probably note, if I hadn’t already, that this vacation was a land and sea cruise, booked through the cruise line. (Denali is not near the ocean.)
Staying at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge was a weird combination of comfort, commercialism, and…well…wilderness. Our hotel room was comfortable but lacked AC. This would have been fine if we were able to open our window while we were in the room, but the screen was broken, and mosquitoes ruled the land there. Still, it was cool enough and the ceiling fan kept the room comfortable.
Our first evening there was free time. This is where we discovered how pricy the meals were. Had I more energy, we might have ventured across the main road to Subway, but I was exhausted. After two days of travel, we caved and tried one of the restaurants. It was there that I fell in love with blueberry cream soda!
I’ll be darned if I remember what I ate. Probably a burger with a side order of reminding myself we’d be on the cruise soon and I’d have a lot more choices and no prices to concern myself with.
I might be a little jaded on that subject.
The next day we had a bus excursion into Denali National Park. There were two stops along the way. One was to watch a video about some of the history of Denali National Park (and buy expensive coffee…who’d expect Starbucks in the wilderness?). The other was a nature walk where our driver reminded us that for safety, we should keep a distance of 100 yards (300 feet) if we see a bear and 25 yards (75 feet) if we see a moose.
Yes, I asked.
“Did anyone tell the bear and moose that?”
The response was a chuckle. Apparently, no one had ever asked our guide that question.
The walk was lovely, but uneventful. The paved walkway was flanked by wildflowers on either side: lupines, bluebell of Scotland, and the occasional Alaskan state flower (and my favorite), the forget-me-not. The phrase “the fireweed is late to bloom this year” was said often by anyone with knowledge of the area.
I’m not sure if there was any significance to this, but there definitely wasn’t any fireweed.
Forget-Me-Nots:
Ptarmigan (can you spot the baby?
There was one tree stump that reminded me of a deer, though!
The next stop on the ride was the turnaround point. This is where it hit me: I’m in Alaska.
Some of us wandered and appreciated the scenery. Some stopped to listen to a local Native American talk about what life is like for her family. Her lecture was interesting, and I would have loved to speak with her afterward, but let’s just say she didn’t give off an approachable vibe. Honestly, I don’t blame her. If that was me, I’d feel like I was on display. I did manage a thank you and a tip, but it still felt awkward.
I’ll remember that part of our trip with very mixed emotions, that’s for certain.
After that, we headed back the way we came. The scenery was beautiful and I caught a glimpse of something large moving away in the trees. Of course, the bus was moving too fast to figure out what it was. My guess was it was the “wrong end” of a moose.
Our day finished with excellent pizza and wandering through shops. We didn’t buy much, knowing this was the first of many places we’d be visiting.
If I had any notion of what was about to happen in the next few days, I’d have done more shopping. (Don’t worry, no one was injured)
To be continued….
Llama
One Crafty Llama 
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