North to Alaska: A Pause in the Plan

While Jim stayed in Anchorage, I went back to NYC for a week and a half to help Janet and Tony.  It was a rough time, but we eventually got him out of the hospital and back home with hospice care.  I stayed for a few days after that to make sure they were well connected with services and then flew back to Anchorage.  We needed to get us and Maxine and our car home before the snows arrived up north.

The trip back was pretty horrendous.  I found out when I got to LaGuardia that I would miss my connection in Houston because my plane here in NYC was late.  They must have moved our gate 5 or more times before we learned how late they'd be.  They suggested I take a shuttle to Newark, NJ, which I did and then got a non-stop to Anchorage.  It took about 12 hours of traveling.  The only good part was that the gates in Newark have monitors and tables there where you can plug in your phone or computer and you can order meals and drinks that can be delivered to the gate.  A glass of Chardonnay saved the day!

Newark Airport

 The other best part was eventually getting back to Anchorage, the kids and Boo.  The four of us went out to dinner to celebrate Josh's and my birthday.

We eventually left for Denali.  It was sunny and 60 degrees when we left Anchorage but it soon turned cloudy and cold.   

We stopped at Talkeetna for an overnight and found a great little spot on the river.  We had the place to ourselves and a little bit of sun to cheer our spirits.  It was good to be on the road again.

We hiked through a beautiful forest to get to town.
The roads and alleys in Talkeetna are narrow and there is
little room for cars, let alone RVs.

The train from Anchorage to Fairbanks makes a stop in Talkeetna, before Denali.  Talkeetna is a darling little town on a one way spur road off the Parks Highway, with a nice mix of shops and restaurants.  It is a base for many Denali climbing expeditions.

We made it to Denali the next day, where we camped at Riley Creek, which was thankfully close to everything.  As you can see, there was no sight of the famous mountain it is named for.  We spent some time driving around a bit, signing up for tours and cooking dinner.  We stayed warm inside with the heat on and lots of blankets!

Mt. McKinley/Denali

Janet was on the phone with us the next morning (August 16th)  to tell us that Tony had just passed away.  We hurried back to Anchorage, packed suitcases, bought a carrier for Boo and were off for NYC-all three of us this time.  We were so glad that we were close enough to Anchorage where we could leave Maxine and our car and that we could get to an airport quickly.  We stayed in NYC until September 1st when we finally left for the return trip.