Chris was on a mission. We had breakfast at the lodge and immediately left with the Winkle’s for the Denali Visitors’ Center. Why? To get the National Park travel books stamped, of course. It turned into quite a fun adventure. We even had THE Bugs Bunny hop across the path right in front of us. Getting the stamps was easy enough. We actually made two stops. One building was called the Bus Depot. That’s where you bought tickets to different excursions in the park. Then we went back out and waited for the bust to come back by again to take us to the actual visitors’ center. Now that place was pretty nice. It had a huge three-D model of the park with Mt. McKinley jutting out right in the center. Fascinating for any geography buff. I thought it was pretty cool, too. We did have a bit of a problem with the bus driver and another passenger on one leg of the journey. Both female. And both unapologetically took sides against the guys in spite of the obvious evidence in our favor. “Girls rule”? Really?
We did find a little gem to join us on the journey. A tiny little stuffed animal husky puppy. Her name is Hermoine. Why? Because it’s pronounced “Her-mine-ee .” And she is. Mine-ee.
While waiting for our coach to Fairbanks, I watched Sheri talk on the phone with one of my newest FaceBook friends and follower of the blog (at least for the trip), her daughter Melinda. It appeared they were having altogether too much fun rehashing the details of my blog post about the day before. Sheri was no doubt embellishing the facts of the completely innocent encounter I had with Chris’ water bottle. She thought she could hide the conversation by covering her mouth with a closed fist like a pitching coach visiting the mound in a Major League Baseball game. Sorry, Sheri. I am a trained reporter. We can’t help it. We just notice things.
The trip to Jeff King’s Husky Homestead was truly the highlight of the day, especially since the bulk of the day was spent traveling on a bus for four hours. At the Homestead we were allowed to snuggle with little baby Alaskan huskies, a lot like little Hermoine. Very cute. We got a tour of the husky training facilities and even a demonstration of a husky sled team in training. It was amazing how excited the dogs got when it was their turn to pull the sled. They seemed to love it. Oh, by “sled” I mean all-terrain vehicle. Then Jeff, a four-time Iditarod champion, spoke to the group. He was a highly entertaining communicator. Regaled us with stories about his races as well as the dogs he has trained. Definitely worth the drive.
After a quick pizza lunch near the lodge we boarded the coach for Fairbanks. Since lunch I had been struggling with something that was stuck between my teeth ... on the “good” side. Chris looked and said it appeared to be a seed of some kind. She gave me some floss, but that did little good. I finally finagled it enough to have it pop out into my hand. Not a seed. Nope. About the size and color of one though. It was ... part of a filling. Of course it was. Sigh. Here’s to new experiences.
Back on the coach we played a game called Goose the Moose. Everyone had a big index card. We were instructed to draw just one small portion of a moose, then pass the card to the person behind us, who then drew another body part. It was pretty fun. The drawings will be judged and a winner drawn at a later date.
The rest stop provided yet another once-in-a-lifetime experience. Besides the good cinnamon rolls (you could pile on your own icing), Chris and I got to ride in an ATV drawn by Alaskan huskies. It was really a lot of fun. Can’t say I’ll ever have an opportunity like that in Texas.
I didn’t know just how much I enjoyed the moose goosing game until the second leg of our journey began and the bus driver started talking. Think monotone lecture by the most boring professor you ever had. We heard later there was an verbal altercation between Mr. Personality Bus Driver and our tour guide. Seems the driver didn’t like the fact that the guide was talking while he was regaling us with whatever he was saying. Not exactly a professional approach to his job.
KayLynn made a new friend when we arrived at the Fairbanks resort. Seems she locked herself out of her room. Their room was hot, so Sheri invited her over to feel what the room was supposed to be like. KayLynn returned and knocked. But Cary didn’t open the door. She knocked more insistently. Still no answer from Cary. Louder. Nope. Louder still. (Anybody else reminded of that classic tale of the three little pigs story? “Little pig, Little pig, let me come in. Not by the hair of my chimney chin chin.” )
Finally the door opened, just a crack. By now KayLynn was bordering on the furious. She barged her way inside, all set to give that husband of hers a good piece of her mind for keeping her waiting. But then she slowed her pace. She stopped. She turned, ever so slowly, to face her gracious doorman. Who was that strange man in her bedroom? Umm. Wait? She glanced hurriedly around at her surroundings. Not her suitcase. Not her purse. Not her backpack ... not her husband. This wasn’t her room at all. It was a stranger’s. Well, used to be a stranger. Not any more. There’s just something about being together in a hotel room that sort of helps you ... bond? When our new friend Jeanne heard the story she had a question: “And what did you have on?” KayLynn answered honestly: “I don’t remember a whole lot about the situation.” Well, OK then. Back to the story ...
KayLynn took a deep breath, I’m sure, issued her apologies, and left the room. A few minutes later, when Cary and KayLynn came out to go to supper, who should also exit their room but KayLynn’s new special friend ... with his wife. Awkward. KayLynn apologized profusely, this time including the little misses. Phew. Was she ever glad to have that incident behind her. Teehee. Then she realized she was sharing it with five of her closest and best friends, one of whom is a blogger. Suffice it to say, I am only recording this as a completely accurate record of the trip. Besides, who will read this thing anyway? Well, beyond the few hundred of her closest friends and relatives.
Supper was on the terrace of the lodge, overlooking the river. Yes, Chris, there really is a river out there. Then we played a few rounds of hand and foot. During the game a couple sitting behind us asked if we wanted their ice chest with water in it. They were checking out and couldn’t take it on the airplane. We said sure. It didn’t take long to hand out the water to the folks at the table next to ours. It was the bonus gifts they left that kind of confused us. Oh, I like bananas, and intend to eat both of them. I’m sure the muffins were fine, but they were a grocery store knock-off brand, so no one wanted them. It was the rest of the care package that confounded us. Towels. Three or four of the nice towels that looked suspiciously like the ones we found in our hotel rooms. Interesting. We handed them off to a maintenance guy who happened to be walking by at the time. He just chuckled and assured us they would be taken care of. I was just glad he didn’t ask us for our room number. We might have been seeing them in the morning.
Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’”
Father, thank you for the thoughtfulness of our fellow travelers. Go with them on their journey. Amen.
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