Adventures at Mt McKinley

We have had a whirlwind of activities since we arrived at Mt. McKinley. When we pulled in on May 8 we were greeted by several very friendly fellow campers who helped us get situated. Along with nine other rv's we are parked in a parking lot where they provide full hook-ups and cable tv. They scraped the snow away to make room for us, but there is still a big pile of snow across from us. It's slowly melting away. We are on top of a hill and walk about one half mile down to the lodge where we work and eat our meals. Of course, what goes down must also come back up so we're getting lots of exercise. This is a view of Mt. McKinley that we see on the way to work.



We had ten days of training which included many wonderful experiences. Their theory is to expose us to many of the same adventures that our guests will encounter so we can explain to them what it is all about.  One day they took us to Talkeetna which is an Alaskan town about a hour away where many of our tours take place. On another day all the vendors who book tours with us came to describe their tours and give current information. We took a trip to the Denali Princess Lodge by rail to attend the Music of Denali, a dinner and musical show. Both the food and the performance were excellent. The rail car that we traveled in had glass all around for a marvelous view of the countryside. The trip was a dry run for the folks who work on the train and at the lodge. We were happy for them to practice on us.

On our day off we were given the opportunity to go on a river raft tour and airplane flight to the glaciers at Mt McKinley. The boat tour took us along a calm river where we saw lots of beaver, beaver dams, eagles and eagle nests. The guide was a life long Alaskan resident with lots of interesting information. They offered us rain gear and since it was cloudy we decided to use it. Here we are ready for the trip.



And here are the rafts we used.



Words can't describe the flight to Mt McKinley and the glaciers. The spectacular scenery kept changing as we got closer to the mountain. We were across from each other in the plane and kept passing the camera back and forth. We were in awe of the beauty of it all. Here we are in front of the plane.



When the plane started out the pilot flew over the lodge property. In the next picture our motorhome is right above the "r" in the word our. The lodge where we work is on the right side of the picture. The rest of the buildings are where the guests stay.



It was difficult choosing which picture to include of the glaciers because there were so many different scenes. But I think this one will give yo an idea of what a glacier looks like. Unfortunately we were unable to land and walk on the glacier because a cloud settled in and the pilot said it would not be safe. We hope to try again later in the season.



Misc info: Our coworkers and supervisors have been very friendly and helpful. Our job has quite a bit of variety. Mostly we work at the tour desk booking tours and answering questions. One day I drove two people to Denali because they missed their bus. We have a small office in Talkeetna where we are scheduled some days. Yesterday was my first day there, and part of the job was to meet the train that came from Anchorage, get the guests organized in the correct lines, help guests from the train to find the correct bus, and help the ones waiting to get on the train. It was quite hectic but fun. Sometimes we get scheduled together, sometimes we work part of our shifts together, and some days we go in different directions. But they give us the same days off together, and on those days we play tourist and take tours that we book. On Saturday we get to go to the train in Anchorage and ride back on the train.

The temperatures are consistently in the 60's now during the day and dropping to the 40's. All the grass and trees are turning green and we are beginning to see the wildflowers pop up. In a week things have gone from brown to green very quickly. Even though the growing season is short the hours of daylight are long. Today the sun rose at 4:23 am and the sun sets at 11:22 pm. It's really neat to have all this daylight.

So far the food has been quite good. Every breakfast includes hot food such as bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, french toast, and oatmeal. Also there are cold cereals, fresh apples, oranges, bananas, yogurt, juices, coffee, tea, and hot chcocolate. At lunch and dinner there is a good salad bar, a variety of hot foods, cold cuts for sandwiches, and sometimes dessert. If Dan doesn't like the hot food he has a sandwich or cereal and fruit.

Our Verizon cell phones are working fine, but our internet service is not dependable. But we are getting by. If we take the computer down to the lodge there seems to be a better connection, but it is more convenient using it at the rv.

I have more pictures to edit of other trips we took and will work on them and write again when I have time. All in all we are having a great experience here in Alaska.