Day 08 - 08/27/25 - Fairbanks, AK To Denali

 As has been typical on this trip, we had to have our bags out by 6:30 AM and we didn't have to be to the coach until 8:15 AM. So we enjoyed our turkey burrito and banana for breakfast before joining our group and boarding our motor coach with our new driver, Doug.  He transported us about a 15 minute ride to the Chena River where we were to take a river boat cruise. This excursion is one that we really like and I'm glad to see that it was part of this year's offering. The pier where the river boat leaves from has an extensive gift shop, including a room that is kept at 40 below zero so you can experience the cold.

The tour is done by the Binkley family and we were on the Discovery III which is the latest of the sternwheel paddle boats that they use to do these tours. It's a nice boat tour down the Chena river with a seaplane landing demonstration to start out with followed by a visit to Susan Butchers kennel where there was a sled dog  demonstration. At the end of the river where it joins the Yukon there is a replica at an Athebastian Village, which has all sorts of native culture exhibits. Following the mandatory three stops at some very specific exhibits we were free to wander on our own and we elected to go out to the dog area and pet the sled dogs and listen to the narrative about sled dogs in general. We really like this stop as it brings to life the culture of the Native Americans who lived in this area before the settlers came. We then did a slow cruise back to the dock and the 99 year old Mary Binkley greeted us along the way.  At the dining hall  we enjoyed a miner's lunch in the big dining hall. It's served family style and one can eat as much as you want. After lunch, we had a short time to browse the gift store once again and wait for our bus driver to pick us up at 1 o'clock.

While waiting for the bus driver, I received a text message from her daughter indicating that she broke her ankle after slipping on the grass in their front yard. Fortunately, her husband was home and they were on their way to the emergency room. Later, we learned that she broke it in several places and has to have surgery next Tuesday to repair it. It's rather painful to be here and not be able to immediately and directly help. But I'm sure once we return home we will be able to assist her.

The drive down to Denali is about 3 1/2 hours long. We made two stops. The first was at Nenana which is noted for their miniature donuts at the local grocery store. There's also a historic train depot and museum there and a couple young enterprising young fellows were selling a book that they had written about an ermine. Soon we were on our way and continued on south for an hour or so and came to our second stop, which is our favorite stop of ours on this leg of the trip. We stopped here four years ago, but on the last two trips there was not a stop here. The Tatlanika Gift Shop & Campground is terrific with vintage machinery and vehicles, a Super Cub, a stuffed polar bear, popcorn, campground and friendly people.  It's about an hour north of Denali on the Parks Highway (3).

Arriving at the McKinley chalet in Denali, which is owned by Holland America, Jesse retrieved our welcome packs, which had our room key and all of our tickets for meals and excursions. This year our room W103 was located the farthest we've been from the main lodge, but right alongside the river. it's a plain & comfortable room, however, there was some black mold in the bathroom next to the tub. I did a little superficial cleaning of it and reported it to the staff. The couch can be made into a bed so the room can really accommodate a family with two small children or three adults. Since our meals here are included, we know of a little trick and that is that we use. We use one dinner voucher and split the entrée and add an extra salad at our cost. That way we can enjoy two meals essentially for very low cost. The steakhouse was totally booked until almost 9 o'clock and we didn't want to wait that long for dinner. So we ended up eating in the bar next to it with sane menu and shared a table with another couple from Texas. The wedge salad was very good as was the baked halibut. Dessert was a decadent chocolate concoction.

After dinner, we walked back to the room along the Nenana River. The side stream was essentially bare with no water flowing through it.  In our welcome pack. We noted that our tundra tour would start at 6 AM so we needed to get to bed early tonight as we need to be up by 4:45 AM.

It was another good day and it's good to be back in Denali. We really enjoy being here. The fall colors are clearly breaking out here in Denali and the forecast is for snow possibly on Friday on our departure day.