Denali State Park
We took the weekend and went to the Mt McKinley Princess Lodge.
Honestly, I was really hoping we would see the Northern Lights.
Friday night, Sean woke up and told me it was too cloudy.
Saturday night, it was raining most of the day, so we didn't bother.
Despite STILL not seeing Aurora Borealis, we did do some hiking.
We hit the Ermine Hill Trail (3.7 miles long) to the Kesugi Ridge.
We had a lot of fun and enjoyed some beautiful scenery.
Millie and I went off the trail a bit to check out this lake.
Blueberries!!! They were everywhere.
They were HUGE!!
Some tasted great, some did not.
This bridge looked a little questionable.
Right after I took the photo, wouldn't you know it?
Millie fell.
There was an alternate route.
The thing is, there was no water below this bridge.
All I can think is that certain times of the year, there must be water here.
Maybe during heavy snow melt?
Or is this global warming at its finest.
I mean, we did have a record drought this year.
It doesn't look so crooked from this direction.
At this point in the trail, we caught up to another group of hikers that were planning to camp out.
I was curious about the water here.
I noticed some green stuff and I thought, this would be a great opportunity to put my phone underwater and take a look.
Some kind of algae, right?
Does anyone know a biologist we could ask?
Club moss and Bunch berry.
I don't know if I ever paid attention to the ferns in fall.
They actually turn glorious colors in the fall.
We finally cleared the treeline.
So I took a moment to wait for everyone else to catch up.
I guess and get a photo.
It surprises me to learn how many different kind of mushrooms Alaska has.
I guess I never really associated Alaska with mushrooms, but it in fact, has many!
That is the Alaska range in front of us even though we haven't caught sight of Denali.
Towards the end of Ermine Hill trail, there was a lake.
We did see some birds on this lake, but we didn't have binoculars.
I couldn't really tell what kind of birds they were.
The Fire weed is letting us know it is the end of summer.
I can see why people would want to camp here.
At this point, we have done 4 miles and roughly 1300 feet in ascent.
Our elevation was roughly 2,500 feet.
It's time to take a break and eat lunch.
While trying to figure out where we were going to eat, I spot this guy:
Marmot.
They are very vocal.
They constantly let you know they don't want you around.
I'm always drawn to these things.
Cairns.
This is where we decided to have lunch.
Sean and I had a mountain house meal, the girls had other stuff!
Millie claimed this rock.
The view from where we ate lunch was magnificent.
The wind was sort of getting me, so I moved into a rock crevice.
When I leaned back, something yelled at me! It was a marmot!!
I hope this video works!!
After Sean petted the poor marmot, we decided we HAD to check out the rock formations.
This would mean we needed to climb up a bit more.
Millie helped me climb up a bit to get this photo.
We did a lot of exploring.
The arrow points the way?
It was amazing to look down and see how the water snaked through the land.
Autumn and Millie were helping each other.
Mom? Can you climb back down and take my picture up here? -Autumn
Obligatory explorer photo.
Random pool of water amongst these rock formations.
Photo op time!!!!
I was happy to join in on the fun.
There was falling.
I was just so happy it was not me.
It didn't really hurt anyone!
Thank goodness.
Sean's idea of fun!!!
Once we made our way down this sandy/rocky hill, we decided it was time to head back.
It was starting to rain some.
Autumn really wanted a photo with this "Charlie Brown" tree.
She doesn't say out loud, but secretly, I think she is excited about a white Christmas.
It's been a LONG time since we had one.
I cannot explain it, but I really loved this tree.
A pink mushroom?
Roots- you'd think they would help you when you are hiking, but they are actually really slippery, even when it isn't raining.
Autumn was really in a hurry to get back to the car.
She kind of ditched Millie and me.
Overall, we did ten miles!!
That is a lot for the girls.
Would I do the hike again?
Yes.
Would I do anything differently?
Yes! I would love to follow the ridge line a bit further OR
consider camping.
I'm not sure if you noticed, but Dingo was not with us.
Unfortunately, the Princess Lodge doesn't allow pets, so
Dingo stayed in a Princess lodge all his own.
Ponderosa Pet Suites! Dingo had his own room complete with bed, TV and a patio.
He went on walks.
He could have had play dates, but we decided for his first stay, some one on one time would be appropriate.
I would definitely use this place again.
There you have it.
Our weekend in a nutshell.
Left out from the post:
1. Autumn and Millie fighting in the back seat.
2. Sean and Cherish arguing in the front seat.
3. We were tired.
4. We were hungry.
I cannot be held liable for the things I say when I'm 1. Tired. 2. Hungry.....
Was it a perfect weekend? No.
Was it a good weekend? Yes.
Honestly, I was really hoping we would see the Northern Lights.
Friday night, Sean woke up and told me it was too cloudy.
Saturday night, it was raining most of the day, so we didn't bother.
Despite STILL not seeing Aurora Borealis, we did do some hiking.
We hit the Ermine Hill Trail (3.7 miles long) to the Kesugi Ridge.
We had a lot of fun and enjoyed some beautiful scenery.
Millie and I went off the trail a bit to check out this lake.
Blueberries!!! They were everywhere.
They were HUGE!!
Some tasted great, some did not.
This bridge looked a little questionable.
Right after I took the photo, wouldn't you know it?
Millie fell.
There was an alternate route.
The thing is, there was no water below this bridge.
All I can think is that certain times of the year, there must be water here.
Maybe during heavy snow melt?
Or is this global warming at its finest.
I mean, we did have a record drought this year.
It doesn't look so crooked from this direction.
At this point in the trail, we caught up to another group of hikers that were planning to camp out.
I was curious about the water here.
I noticed some green stuff and I thought, this would be a great opportunity to put my phone underwater and take a look.
Some kind of algae, right?
Does anyone know a biologist we could ask?
Club moss and Bunch berry.
I don't know if I ever paid attention to the ferns in fall.
They actually turn glorious colors in the fall.
We finally cleared the treeline.
So I took a moment to wait for everyone else to catch up.
I guess and get a photo.
It surprises me to learn how many different kind of mushrooms Alaska has.
I guess I never really associated Alaska with mushrooms, but it in fact, has many!
That is the Alaska range in front of us even though we haven't caught sight of Denali.
Towards the end of Ermine Hill trail, there was a lake.
We did see some birds on this lake, but we didn't have binoculars.
I couldn't really tell what kind of birds they were.
The Fire weed is letting us know it is the end of summer.
I can see why people would want to camp here.
At this point, we have done 4 miles and roughly 1300 feet in ascent.
Our elevation was roughly 2,500 feet.
It's time to take a break and eat lunch.
While trying to figure out where we were going to eat, I spot this guy:
Marmot.
They are very vocal.
They constantly let you know they don't want you around.
I'm always drawn to these things.
Cairns.
This is where we decided to have lunch.
Sean and I had a mountain house meal, the girls had other stuff!
Millie claimed this rock.
The view from where we ate lunch was magnificent.
The wind was sort of getting me, so I moved into a rock crevice.
When I leaned back, something yelled at me! It was a marmot!!
I hope this video works!!
After Sean petted the poor marmot, we decided we HAD to check out the rock formations.
This would mean we needed to climb up a bit more.
Millie helped me climb up a bit to get this photo.
We did a lot of exploring.
The arrow points the way?
It was amazing to look down and see how the water snaked through the land.
Autumn and Millie were helping each other.
Mom? Can you climb back down and take my picture up here? -Autumn
Obligatory explorer photo.
Random pool of water amongst these rock formations.
Photo op time!!!!
I was happy to join in on the fun.
There was falling.
I was just so happy it was not me.
It didn't really hurt anyone!
Thank goodness.
Sean's idea of fun!!!
Once we made our way down this sandy/rocky hill, we decided it was time to head back.
It was starting to rain some.
Autumn really wanted a photo with this "Charlie Brown" tree.
She doesn't say out loud, but secretly, I think she is excited about a white Christmas.
It's been a LONG time since we had one.
I cannot explain it, but I really loved this tree.
A pink mushroom?
Roots- you'd think they would help you when you are hiking, but they are actually really slippery, even when it isn't raining.
Autumn was really in a hurry to get back to the car.
She kind of ditched Millie and me.
Overall, we did ten miles!!
That is a lot for the girls.
Would I do the hike again?
Yes.
Would I do anything differently?
Yes! I would love to follow the ridge line a bit further OR
consider camping.
I'm not sure if you noticed, but Dingo was not with us.
Unfortunately, the Princess Lodge doesn't allow pets, so
Dingo stayed in a Princess lodge all his own.
Ponderosa Pet Suites! Dingo had his own room complete with bed, TV and a patio.
He went on walks.
He could have had play dates, but we decided for his first stay, some one on one time would be appropriate.
I would definitely use this place again.
There you have it.
Our weekend in a nutshell.
Left out from the post:
1. Autumn and Millie fighting in the back seat.
2. Sean and Cherish arguing in the front seat.
3. We were tired.
4. We were hungry.
I cannot be held liable for the things I say when I'm 1. Tired. 2. Hungry.....
Was it a perfect weekend? No.
Was it a good weekend? Yes.
Comments