Happy Father's DayJun 19, 2011
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The jet boat. Held about 50. top speed 40 mph.
The side of the train cars.
Can you spot the baby eagles?
Happy Father's Day! Marilyn made me a mushroom omelette, bacon, and toast for breakfast. That was a treat as I am the chief cook. Sunny morning so we rode our bikes into town, 5 minutes, and booked a jet boat tour of the Talkeetna, Susitna and Chulitna Rivers. I found wifi at Twister Creek the restaurant associated with the Denali Brewery and worked on the blog while Marilyn went down to the beach to take pictures. I drank unsweetened iced tea instead of some of their fine beer. What restraint. Mind you it was only 10:00 AM. It took me a while but I am up to date momentarily. Back to the trailer for lunch and get ready for the boat ride. We walked down to the dock which was beside our campground. The boat was about 2/3's full and held 52. The sky was clouding over but the sun managed to poke through for most of the trip. It was a three and a half hour ride including a stop to see a replica of an Indian village and a trapper's cabin. The boat ride was exciting as neither Marilyn or I had been on a jet boat before. We experienced sharp turns and class two and three whitewater as we travelled through the Chulitna Gorge. Stopped to watch a mother eagle in her nest with her young. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow us a view of McKinley or the mountain range but you pay your money and you take your chances. Dropped off 26 of the 36 passengers at a Princess Wilderness lodge. Princess Cruise Lines builds or buys their own lodges. Then transports visitors by train from the end of their cruise and provides them with a one week Alaskan land adventure. Smart marketing. They are not well thought of by a lot of the locals but our jet boat guys thought they were OK. Raining by the time we got back but who cares. We have a warm and dry RV and I cooked chicken cacciatore for dinner. That was appropriate as dinner wasn't until 8:00 just like in Italy. Another great day in Alaska. Saying that never gets boring. On a sad note today was the memorial service for my Auntie Beth my father's younger sister. My family was very close to Beth and Frank. Frank loved to come and watch the boys play hockey. Kim, Kris and their families attended the service and kept us in the loop. She was a great lady and we will miss her terribly.
