Nenana is 56 miles South of Fairbanks at Mile 305 of the Parks Highway with a population of 460 plus an additional 600 in the surrounding area. This photo is where the 2006 wildfire jumped the highway.
Not sure where we were along the Parks...
This would be Igloo City Resort at Mile 188.5 Parks Highway. The hotel was built in the 1960's. The owners ran out of money before completion. The abandoned half-built hotel sits next to the "resort" - two small cabins, a wash house, a gas station and convenience store. The gas station and convenience store have since closed.
This would be Wal Mike's caribou in Trapper's Creek at Mile 114 Parks Highway....the only "wildlife" I saw in this trip. Oh, except for the porcupine I almost hit at 1:30am on the way home!
After 326 miles we reached Palmer at 3:00pm and made a stop at DQ for the worst burger I've had in a long time. After lunch we went to the field to watch the West Valley Wolfpack JV play the Palmer Moose JV at 4:00pm.
We watched Cody (#40) and Nick (#47) do a lot of this....
Then Cody got to do this....
and this....
Nick got to do this from here....
to here...
Then Cody got to do this (he's in the middle)...
and they got to do this once with 1:12 left in the game.
Final score.....Wolfpack wins!
Altogether Cody got to be on special teams four times (punts) and one offensive play. Nick got to punt once and had one offensive play. This is where I am supposed to be happy they were on the field at all because some players never got to go in. On-the-other-hand, their parents didn't drive 326 miles to watch them either! The previous game both boys played a lot so we were really disappointed this game, but what can you do? We told them they did a good job, we got back in the van and drove the 326 miles back home. After a great dinner at the Hacienda in Wasilla (Mexican) off we went.
See Mount McKinley above the light pole?
Here she is at 8:40pm.
I took these photos while I was driving 70mph in a race to get to the scenic pullout for better photos before the clouds rolled in. This is 9:17pm.
At 9:27pm almost completely hidden.
At 9:42pm I reached the pull-out. McKinley was hidden, but did get this nice shot of the mountain range.
There goes the sun.
I think this is Eldridge Glacier, but I won't swear to it. There are several in the area, and despite the fact that I have driven Fairbanks to Anchorage hundreds of times, I have never stopped to read the signs or take photos.
10:14pm...
We were awake in Fairbanks at 6:00am after 4 hours of sleep. Hubby drove down while I knitted (I should have napped). We watched the game, ate and I drove back so he could sleep since he had to work Saturday morning. We arrived at 2:00am. With five hours of sleep Wednesday night, 4 hours of sleep Thursday night and a 20-hour day by the time we arrived home I was exhausted! The last 35 miles were the hardest as it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. I don't want to do that again any time soon!
2 comments:
Gayle, What a trip! And it's still light at almost 10 O'clock at night! The Mount McKinley pix are incredible! The shots of the game were great... you have twins both playing football - double the fun, double the worry... :) And driving 300+ miles to your sons' football game!
Oh Gosh! It's been a long time since I've been in your neck of the woods. I had an aunt & uncle that lived outside of Anchorage...I remember McKinley. Thanks for visiting my blog! Love yours...
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