Denali Suites Healy

... hopes very much that this meeting pans out.

We are back to work on 09-10 for our last seven days as campground hosts. We are both happy and sad. I’m sad because I’m not looking forward to 8 or 9 days on the road when we leave. I hope Val and Dave don’t stop at any of those parking lot campgrounds on the way home. I have bathroom issues…

Your sensitive friend,

Remington Beagle

Last trip out into the park…

Val has wanted to go to Wonder Lake for two summers, and Dave does not want to ride the bus. As the season comes to a close, Val has decided to take the bus to Wonder Lake by herself. It turns out to be a good choice. Val says there is not a lot of narrative to go with the story of her day; the pictures tell the story.

They saw everything on the park road except...A BEAGLE!

Your rare breed,

Remington Beagle

... but we will miss this place.

Just after supper last night, Dave tapped on the window and pointed out a coyote in the road right in front of the trailer. Val rushed out to get a picture. She did get one but he had traveled up the road a ways by the time she snapped him. When Natalie was here she found a sizeable hunk of fur laying on a bush down by the old runway ...

... the power plant and the Usibelli Coal Mine. This road also ends up at a dead end because the road has been totally washed out. Geologically this is a very cool place with rock formations and valleys merging. Dave and I take a hike along the creek, and Val is absorbed by checking out some neat looking rocks.

Do you remember the story I told you sometime back about how Savage River got its name from a man named Tom Strand? Well with the help of Foster we found the ...

... front property in Arizona…)

We are very excited about our next 7 days off. We will be meeting Kym and Luke in Seward and will have more to report than skidding squirrels.

Yours for more excitement,

Remington Beagle

P.S. Many thanks to Lisa and Randy Plamondon for their generous contribution to the flush and furnace fund, and special thanks to Hobart Jewelry for the beautiful Miraculous Metals they donated to the cause.

... up now with their tripods and cameras all set to photograph the baby and his fate. "Enough of this, it's time to turn on our generator back at camp." We don't get very far, maybe half a mile, when we come up over a hill and see buses stopped in the road - and a bear. The bear is headed toward the bridge. We know what that means. As soon as we are able to turn around we head back to let Vic and Russ know that it looks like a bear is on the way. Vic ...

... aware such things might happen). But lucky us: The company has a second office up in Healy. When we planned our itinerary, we took this into consideration, and made our plans so that we have a "free" day when we're in Healy (i.e. nothing scheduled for a certain time during this day). Since the weather was so bad, and we couldn't really do much in Talkeetna since everything is outdoors, we headed north to Healy. A short time before ...

... Highway is the 250-mile road that connects Anchorage and Fairbanks, with Denali National Park about halfway between. You'd think those factors would inspire enough lobbying around the Federal money pot to assure smooth roadways. I mean, TOUR BUSES, after all! But it was a nasty ride. I held tightly onto the steering wheel, and since there were no villages along the way with glowing golden arches, I wolfed down all the granola bars I'd stashed in my pack. I needed a ...