Denali Jeep Trip and on to Anchorage

Started of the day with a 4-wheel jeep trip along the edge of Denali. Here is a shot of one of the tamer stretches of the trail we followed. Some of it was to rough to even try to take a picture.
At the turn-around of the trail we followed, the company had a food site set up. They served camp stew and fry bread. Both were excellent!!! The cook lives out there (about 20 miles back in the woods) the whole season. He comes to town once a week. This guy is amazing. He is probably mid to late 30's, never had a drivers license, worked a couple years on a fishing boat in the Aleutians, plans on loading his ocean kyak once this job is done (mid-September) and heading down the river towards the ocean. Once there, he said he would pick something up. Been doing this lifestyle for years. That is him in the picture with his arms crossed.
Notice the ladder up the tree. One of the people on the tour asked what it was for. His comment: "Well duh, that is where I go when the bears come!" He had a boat airhorn on the table and 2 cans of bear spray on his belt. He was telling us that last night was pretty exciting, as he keep hearing things go bump in the dark.
Here is a shot of Nick and Nate. Nick is the manager of the tour and is from Celina. Nate was our tour guide and rode in our jeep. Since this tour was kinda set up by Nick's mom, he gave it to us for free. Well, not quite free as Dave and I bought each of them a bottle of Jack to help keep them warm at night...... We had a blast on the trip, but didn't get to see any critters. Saw a lot of sign that they were around, but I guess they were just being bashful.
Headed south from there. Only got a couple of pictures, since as you can see, the clouds were pretty nasty. They ended up raining on us for about 3 hours. Plus, the temp dropped drastically the farther south we got.
We'd made reservations at a Best Western last night. Rooms around Anchorage are sometimes hard to find. So, we searched for a place that had a lounge and restaurant so we wouldn't have to leave once we get there if the weather was bad. Well, Best Western is going to get a couple of letters once Dave and I get home. Their website for this location said it had both a restaurant and lounge. Once we got here and were checking in, we asked where they were. We were told that they had closed them over 2 months ago. No big deal, right? Except it was raining and it meant we had to go back out in the rain to find something to eat. Not a happy camper. Plus, the prices are outrageous!

Weather in Anchorage tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 55, plus rain all day up to 1/2 inch. Sounds like it is going to be another beautiful day in paradise. Oh well, the fun of traveling on a motorcycle. You would think I would be used to it by now.

We will pass the 5,000 mile mark on this trip in the morning. Not too bad for a couple of old fat farts. We'll have well over 10,000 miles by the time we finally get home.

If it doesn't rain all day tomorrow, should be some pretty good pics, as the mountains we glimpsed coming towards Anchorage look pretty impressive. Sure hope we can see them.

Later all. Still having fun............