Wanderlust

Here is another great restaurant we went to in Anchorage. We got there at 5:55 a.m. When they opened at six we were the first ones there. We got coffee and scones because we were going to the train depot and heading north to Denali. We knew from our train ride the day before, to Seward, that food was limited on the train unless you paid extra money. The state of Alaska can't seem to find enough people to keep the dining car open for the cheap seats. Even the little cafe where you can buy coffee or soda or corn dogs and other snacks wasn't open all the time because the staff had to take a break. So this coffee and fresh scone was delicious and helped tide me over during the trip. No body has fun when Momma is hangry.

Alaska is so photogenic I just don't know when to stop taking pictures.

I'm glad we rented a car for the national park. Taking the national park bus has advantages. The bus goes farther than where cars are allowed this week. Next week cars are allowed farther in. No one can get past the landslide though. The landslide broke the approximately 90 mile park road in half at mile 45. By using the car, we could get in and out whenever we wanted. We noticed most people in the bus did not get out. The bus has higher seating though so they could see farther than we could. We were lucky to get any cars at all. I wanted a Cadillac but none were available. We had a Ford sedan the first day and a Ford Expedition SUV the second day. There is only one car rental place in the area and I guess they like Fords. We picked up this Ford at the train depot because the previous renter got on the train we just got off. We picked up the Expedition at the train depot too. See those red stemmed wildflowers on the right side on the road with the white fluffy tops? That is fireweed. Fireweed colonizes quickly after a fire. Fireweed grows in Minnesota too but I have never seen it so abundant nor as tall as it is here in Alaska. We saw fireweed in patches that were seven feet tall. The fireweed leaves can be used for tea. The fluff in the fall can be used in weaving or for padding. In Alaska people use the lavender flowers to make fireweed jelly. 

The car rental agency lent us bear spray and binoculars. We could have asked for hiking poles too but I forgot. When she gave us the bear spray I asked if we apply it now like mosquito spray or wait until we see a bear before applying it. I made a joke. She didn't even crack a smile. She ignored me completely. You would think good customer service would mean at least smiling at a semi-funny joke. But, no, she did not smile at me. Also, my hands reeked from holding the containers of bear spray so we kept them in a plastic bag. I was glad to borrow the bear spray because bear spray costs fifty dollars and I could not take it home on the plane. I was going to bring my jingle bells but Offspring #2 thought that was a crazy idea. Bear bells are still for sale at sporting good stores. The National Park decided a few years ago that bear bells are no good and bear spray is the way to go. The National Park still sells bear bells. They also sell bird lists for 75 cents. We didn't see any bears on our trip but we were prepared. The binoculars that the car rental agency lent us were AWESOME! I was surprised when she gave us a quick lesson on how to focus the binoculars. These were Steiner self-focusing binoculars and now I want to buy a pair for myself because I love Steiner self-focusing binoculars.

I guess I have a bad case of the wanderlust. Here is our mascot, Bullwinkle, waiting for our flight out of Fairbanks to go home. We took the red-eye. The plane took off about 11 p.m. Alaska time. Every seat on the plane was taken. During this whole trip I hoped to see northern lights. I hoped we would see them on Offspring #2's birthday. No such luck. We did see northern lights for five minutes while taxiing on the runway in Fairbanks. The seats on the left side of the plane had a better view. I had the middle seat on the right side. Offspring #2 had the window seat. Some other young woman who liked northern lights had the aisle seat. If we ducked our heads and looked to the left we could see the green northern lights better until the people in our row on the left side of the plane shut their windows. Yep, you heard that right. They shut their windows. Passengers on a plane have every right to shut their windows. The seat belt sign was on so we had to stay in our seats. By the time the seat belt signs went off the northern lights show had ended. I have seen northern lights many times but this was Offspring #2's only encounter with aurora borealis so far.