Across the Denali Highway with Marci

My friend Marci came to visit with me starting on the 4th of July. I kept her busy. She tagged along on the 4th of July's eagle release at McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, and then she got to see me do presentations with Ghost there the next weekend. After that I had to drag her across the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxson. Remember, it's 135 miles long and mostly gravel. It closes down for winter and reopens around April 1st. It opened later than normal this year due to a heavy snowfall this past winter. If you remember last year, the pups and I woke up to snow on the ground on our first trip out.

 

We started at Cantwell which is on the western side and headed in. We spent the first night at my ol' reliable campsite overlooking the Alaska Range and sporadic small lakes or ponds. Most of the highway is above the timberline, so the views are absolutely gorgeous. When we got up the next morning, it was very windy, so after breakfast and a walk for the pups, we decided to move on.

 The pups took to Marci real fast and them to her. They love going on camping trips and exploring where we haven't been before.

 The wildflowers are every where's and in full bloom.

More wildflowers.

Guess where we are at. It was a cluster trying to get the pups to stay, look towards the camera, focus, set the self timer ( I forgot my remote shutter release) and dash towards the sign to get in the photo.

 Marci spotted this Tundra Swan and I had to stop to photograph it. She was so proud sitting on nest and keeping a watchful eye. The male came by later to help keep a watch on things.

 We found a very nice site outside of Tangle Lakes, so we set up camp. Time to fix dinner and then explore a little. Rained pretty heavy that night. I'm not sure if Marci got any sleep at all. She was reacting to all of the noises the weather was making on the RV.

°When Marci left Phoenix, the temperature there was over 100°. She was freezing in our high 50° weather we were having. I thought it was comfy.

 The next morning we woke up to snow falling on the mountain tops across from our camp. I don't think Marci was impressed.

We stopped at Paxson Lodge, mile 0 of the highway, to stretch. The lodge has been closed for years and is for sale if you got a fat bank account to remodel.

 

After that we headed into GlennAllen for lunch. The old Fireweed Café is now Carlos's Mexican Restaurant. Food was OK but the service needs some serious work. It might have the new business start up blues.  We gased up and headed home. Marci had to go back to warmer temperatures the next day.

 

I hope she enjoyed her stay. I definitely enjoyed her being here.