lilikoi78's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member lilikoi78 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lilikoi78 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:36:07 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com unfinished blog — Houston, Texas, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1222138680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1222138680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1222138680/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:36:07 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Houston, Texas, United States

Sorry I haven't been able to finish the blog.  Internet was spotty in Alaska, and when we returned back to Houston it was a mess from the hurricane.  We just got power yesterday and internet today, so hopefully I can finish it up soon.  Hang in there!  Thanks! -E12-26-08-  Ok, so I know it has been a long time, but I'm finally getting it all done.  Stay tuned for a complete blog!-E
]]> Back to the Lower 48 — Anchorage, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221517980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221517980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221517980/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:34:21 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

We awoke to another cloudy day, but no rain!&nbsp; It was an improvement at least.&nbsp; Today was our last day in Alaska, so we would leave Seward to drive back to Anchorage for our flight at 1:00 am.&nbsp; Luckily, they were opening the airport in Houston the day we were to arrive.&nbsp; We had some time to burn.&nbsp; We did a little shopping for souvenirs before leaving Seward and then headed out back to Anchorage.&nbsp; As we got up into the mountains, the clouds broke up a little and we were greeted with little pockets of sunshine.&nbsp; The drive was beautiful, and we tried to stop at bird point for a picnic lunch, but it turned out to be a little colder than we expected so we enjoyed the view for a bit and went on our way to Anchorage.&nbsp; &nbsp; We arrived in Anchorage, ate at Arby's (the thought of another PB&amp;J didn't thrill us) and we went to the downtown area to do a little shopping.&nbsp; It was weird being back in a city with so many cars and people.&nbsp; We wandered through a few stores that were pretty touristy, and eventually ended up at the Sleeping Lady Brewery to try out what they had to offer.&nbsp; I don't know about Rick, but the sampling process left me pretty loaded.&nbsp; After drinking quite a few, we wandered around downtown looking for a place to eat.&nbsp; Unfortunately, by the time we were done drinking, most places were closed, including the reindeer hotdog vendor.&nbsp; I had seen this guy on a documentary TV program all about hotdogs, and I wanted so badly to partake in a reindeer hotdog ever since I saw it on the program.&nbsp; Alas, the booze clouded my priorities, and I missed out on the opportunity.&nbsp; A little part of my life will remain unfulfilled....&nbsp; We ended up getting in the car and driving over to the Moose's Tooth for more beer and the most awesome pizza I've ever had.&nbsp; After burning time at the restaurant, cleaning out the rental car, we finally made our way back to the airport.&nbsp; We bid farewell to our trusty Ford Focus, a little muddier and 1,500 miles later.&nbsp; &nbsp; So our flight didn't leave until 1:00 in the morning.&nbsp; In hindsight it wasn't the best idea to drink all afternoon and then get on a plane.&nbsp; I was pretty hung over by that time, and on top of a lot of pizza and a viscous cold, I was about as miserable as a person could get.&nbsp; Yes, I was THAT person- the one on the plane coughing and snarfing and spreading disease to the poor people trapped in there with me.&nbsp; I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I was stuck in the middle seat and the woman next to me decided to play her portable DVD player the entire time.&nbsp; <i>Friends blared from the screen that was as bright as the surface of the sun. I tried to bury myself in a blanket, but no sleep came for the 3 hour trip to Seattle.&nbsp; &nbsp; We were greeted by a beautiful, cloudless morning in Seattle.&nbsp; My brother offered for us to get off and stay there with him while we waited out the hurricane mess, and that beautiful morning made it really tempting.&nbsp; We were able to get off the plane again, and it was nice to get some fresh air and replenish my Kleenex supply.&nbsp; The 4 hours back to Houston wasn't so bad- the in-flight movie was good (<i>Ms. Pettigrew Lives for a Day), I got a window seat, I could periodically breathe, and we were not served and food items containing ranch.&nbsp; &nbsp; We arrived at the airport, and everything seemed normal despite the hurricane:&nbsp; air conditioning, power, and all the comforts of civilization.&nbsp; Once outside it was quite different and a new ordeal began.... &nbsp;
]]> Seward and the coast — Seward, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221258480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221258480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221258480/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:28:53 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Seward, Alaska, United States

After more driving through gorgeous scenery, we arrived in Seward- still gray, cold and rainy.&nbsp; We checked into a Swan's Nest Inn, or Bed and Breakfast for the next few days.&nbsp; The place was actually an old historic building converted into an inn.&nbsp; It wasn't quite what I expected.&nbsp; Up until this point we had been staying in out own, private cabins, free to be as un-social as we pleased. &nbsp;&nbsp; Now we were holed up in a small room, and forced to exchange small talk with strangers whenever we left its safety.&nbsp; Not exactly myself or Rick's cup of tea.&nbsp; I'm not sure what I was thinking when I booked the place....
]]> Seward and the coast — Whittier, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221258300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221258300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221258300/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:27:48 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Whittier, Alaska, United States

In the morning we enjoyed watching three loons leisurely swim along the lakeshore past the cabin.&nbsp; I had always wanted to see a loon, so I was very excited.&nbsp; We had a lovely breakfast in the main house with ? and then we were off to Seward, on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage.&nbsp; We were worried about the hurricane, but there was not much we could no about it, so we tried to not think about things and do the best we could to enjoy the rest of our trip.&nbsp; The drive, as always, was beautiful as we drove next to bay.&nbsp; We still couldn't get a break from the weather; the rain kept following us.&nbsp; &nbsp; As we drove down the highway, we saw a sign that said Portage Glacier, so on a whim we decided to check it out.&nbsp; I'm so glad we did!&nbsp; As you drove on the road to Portage Glacier there were many other glaciers hanging down from the mountains above.&nbsp; They were peeking out of the mist, and were that brilliant bright blue color of glacier ice.&nbsp; Portage glacier was located on the other side of the aptly named Portage Lake, and you can take a boat ride up to the glacier.&nbsp; It was so cold and rainy so we passed on the boat ride and enjoyed the glacier from afar.&nbsp; &nbsp; Right next to the Portage Glacier area is the road to go to the town of Whittier.&nbsp; The cool thing about the road is that it is a tunnel that goes straight through the mountains to the bay on the other side.&nbsp; The tunnel is only one lane wide, so traffic has to alternate coming and going.&nbsp; A train uses the tunnel too, and everyone yields to him.&nbsp; So we decided to go to Whittier on a whim and check it out.&nbsp; &nbsp; The trip through the tunnel was cool, and we arrived in a rainy, cold ghost town.&nbsp; I guess it was the last day of the season, and everyone was closing up shop.&nbsp; Fisherman were pulling there boats out of the water, almost all of the stores were closed, and we appeared to be the only tourists in town.&nbsp; It was kind of depressing.&nbsp; Now under different meteorological conditions, I'm sure Whittier is a beautiful place- with the glaciers capping the green mountains behind town, and the sun shining off the light blue water of the bay.&nbsp; But today, gray mist pressed down and obscured the mountains, and sheets of cold rain pelted the little town that seemed to be sighing its last breath before sleeping for the winter.&nbsp; &nbsp; We found a little café that was still open so we stopped in for lunch.&nbsp; They had CNN tuned on their TV, and we saw the first pictures of the hurricane barreling towards home. It was huge, and as we ate salmon burgers we watched Ike come ashore and CNN talk about the impending destruction of the Texas Gulf Coast.&nbsp; At least the burger was good.&nbsp;&nbsp; Since we came all the way there, we felt we need to at least walk around and explore a little, but &nbsp; we were only met by closed stores, more rain, and a big wooden halibut.&nbsp; It wasn't long before we were on our way, leaving the town to settle into winter hibernation. &nbsp;
]]> Driving the Richardson HIghway to back to Wasilla — Wasilla, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1230333720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1230333720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1230333720/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:25:17 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Wasilla, Alaska, United States

Today we were back on the road, leaving Paxson behind and heading to Wasilla.&nbsp; Luckily, we also got to leave the rain behind, if just for a little while.&nbsp; We cruised the empty road south to Glennallen, and then turned west.&nbsp; This road was probably the most beautiful drive I have ever seen.&nbsp; The vast expanses of empty taiga give way to the huge mountains surrounding Prince William Sound.&nbsp; As you approach the mountains, you catch glimpses of huge glaciers flowing between the peaks.&nbsp; We stopped at a little state park at the Matanuska Glacier for a picnic.&nbsp; What a picnic!&nbsp; The view of the glacier was awesome, and we took a little hike around the nature trail.&nbsp; While staring at the blue ice of the glacier framed by the golden aspens, I couldn't help but think about my friends back in Houston, having to be at work right at the moment.&nbsp; Sucks to be them.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; We continued down the road, with the scenery becoming more and more dramatic as we followed the valley towards Wasilla.&nbsp; We had to stop for some road construction, but we didn't mind since it gave us more time to look around.&nbsp; We eventually made it to Wasilla, and went to check into our cabin, but it wasn't ready yet.&nbsp; To pass the time we decided to drive up to the Independence Mine to check it out.&nbsp; The mine is located in a state park in the mountains above Wasilla.&nbsp; Unfortunately for us, the rain had returned but it did not stop us.&nbsp; When we got to the top, we found that the park had closed for the year, but a sign said we were welcome to park at the gate and walk in.&nbsp; &nbsp; The mine was operated mainly during the 30's and 40's, and you can walk around and check out all the old mining buildings and equipment.&nbsp; Since the park was closed, we had the whole place to ourselves.&nbsp; The gray, misty weather and the lack of people really made for a neat ambiance while exploring the mining camp.&nbsp; It really felt old and abandoned; almost haunted.&nbsp; Rick really enjoyed it since he likes all things historical.&nbsp; We stayed as long as we could, but we were soaked to the bone, so we drove back to Wasilla to grab a bite to eat and check into our cabin. &nbsp; Our cabin was part of The Gate House Bed and Breakfast run my a nice lady named ?&nbsp; It was on her property which was right on Lake Wasilla.&nbsp; It had a gorgeous view of the lake and was nice a cozy.&nbsp; We cranked up the heater and settled in for the night.&nbsp; We actually had TV, but only got one very fuzzy channel.&nbsp; We had cell phone reception too, so I called my parents to let them know we were doing well.&nbsp; That is when we found out about Ike.&nbsp; Since we had been out in the boondocks, with no TV, radio or phone, we had no idea a very large hurricane was about to hit Houston.&nbsp; We found out the night before it hit, so we could still contact our family in Houston to get some news.&nbsp; Luckily Rick's family secured our house while we were gone.&nbsp; So with the knowledge of a storm possibly tearing apart our house while we were thousands of miles away, we went to bed.&nbsp;
]]> Paxson and the Denali Highway — Paxson, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221085200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221085200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1221085200/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:22:14 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Paxson, Alaska, United States

When we woke up the weather had not gotten any better; still cold and rainy.&nbsp; The weather had left a little present, though: a blanket of fresh snow on the tops of the mountains.&nbsp; After a muffin and some hot tea for breakfast, we headed out into the cold to explore the area.&nbsp; We drove up the Denali Highway west from Paxson.&nbsp; It would over the tundra at the base of the Alaska Range.&nbsp; It was beautiful, despite not being able to see very far because of the low clouds.&nbsp; We drove up to Tangle Lakes where the pavement ran out.&nbsp; The dirt road looked in pretty good shape, so we violated out rental car agreement and left the pavement behind.&nbsp; &nbsp; He hadn't seen much wildlife, but we spotted a big bull moose sitting in the blueberries off the side of the road.&nbsp; We pulled over and I took some pictures with my awesome telephoto lens.&nbsp; We left the moose to his berries, and continued down the road and eventually decided to take a hike at ? Pass.&nbsp; We donned our gloves and cinched up our jackets and marched through the tundra in the rain.&nbsp; We scared up several flocks of ptarmigan, but didn't really see any other creatures brave enough (or stupid enough) to hang out in such crappy weather.&nbsp; After a little while, we realized we were getting colder and soggier, while the weather wasn't getting any better.&nbsp; We turned around, jumped back in the car, and headed to a lower elevation where it wasn't raining.&nbsp; We hiked a little more around the Tangle Lakes and had a PB&amp;J picnic lunch.&nbsp; Before long we had our fill of cold, wet hiking, and we returned to the cabin for a cozy afternoon of reading and napping.&nbsp;
]]> Fairbanks and Paxson — Paxson, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220998680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220998680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220998680/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:19:47 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Paxson, Alaska, United States

I ate my ice cream as we drove north out of town to the Alaska Pipeline viewing area.&nbsp; You could walk right up to the pipeline and check out some displays on how it worked.&nbsp; Rick really liked it.&nbsp; I guess he doesn't get to see that side of his job very often.&nbsp; After our informative visit to the pipeline, we started heading back south.&nbsp; Just to the southeast of Fairbanks we drove through the little town of North Pole.&nbsp; You had to hand it to the residents; they definitely took their town name to heart and rolled with it.&nbsp; All the light poles in town are painted like candy canes, the Wendy's is decorated like Christmas inside 24/7, and the town is home to the world's largest Santa.&nbsp; We had to stop for this. &nbsp; We pulled off the road and ended up at the Santa Clause House.&nbsp; Wow.&nbsp; Outside- giant Santa outside, complete with an actual "north pole" and reindeer.&nbsp; Inside- perpetual Christmas.&nbsp; Unfortunately, Santa was on vacation so no pictures with the jolly old elf.&nbsp; This place had every Christmas ornament imaginable and piece of Christmas and North Pole paraphernalia imaginable.&nbsp; Interestingly, this is where all the letters addressed to "Santa at the North Pole" end up.&nbsp; The store had letter after letter, from the U.S. as well as all over the world, stapled to the walls.&nbsp; It was fun to read what the kids wanted for Christmas.&nbsp; &nbsp; We were all Christmas'd out, so we headed on our way.&nbsp; Again, as we were driving we spotted another roadside gem:&nbsp; A whole collection of animal sculptures made from knotty pieces of wood.&nbsp; This was definitely worth a stop, so we turned around and pulled into the aptly named "Knotty Shop."&nbsp; We wandered through a little sculpture garden with various pieces of knotty wood that happened to look like Alaskan wildlife.&nbsp; We got some good pictures and had some fun, but we really needed to get back on the road if we ever hoped to make it to Paxson.&nbsp; &nbsp; The drive down the Richardson highway was beautiful, and deserted.&nbsp; We had finally left behind all the tour buses full of cruise tourists; just hours of open road ahead of us.&nbsp; The road and skirted the base of the mountains.&nbsp; At one point, a ridge of peaks rose straight up from the base of the road, at about a 45 degree angle.&nbsp; Amazing!&nbsp; Unfortunately though, the further south we got, the nastier the weather became.&nbsp; Overcast skies gave way to cold, pouring rain by the time we got to Paxson.&nbsp; &nbsp; We checked into our cozy cabin at Paxson Alpine Cabins and cooked a little dinner on the grill behind our cabin.&nbsp; Rick braved the rain and grilled some chicken that we picked up in Fairbanks.&nbsp; We also had some beans and corn that we heated up hobo style (in the can on the grill.)&nbsp; &nbsp; After such a long car ride, it was great to have a home cooked dinner.&nbsp; We enjoyed every bite while sitting on the back porch of the cabin, and even a cold beer was good, despite the temperature outside!
]]> Fairbanks and Paxson — Fairbanks, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220998020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220998020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220998020/tpod.html Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:12:20 -0500 Exploring Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States

This morning we had to leave Denali behind and drive to our next cabin in Paxson.&nbsp; We had a long day of driving ahead- since we were wary of driving the un-paved Denali Highway to Paxson, we decided to drive the paved highway from Denali, up to Fairbanks, and then over to Paxson (about 290 miles!)&nbsp; It was a cloudy day, but it did not dampen the beauty of the scenery.&nbsp; Leaving Healy, the hills were awash in the golden glow of paper birches and aspens at the height of their color.&nbsp; The golden trees poured over the hills and mixed with the bright red of the blueberry bushes in the meadows.&nbsp; Photos could never capture it!&nbsp; &nbsp; We drove for several hours through taiga and tundra, hardly seeing other cars on the road.&nbsp; We pulled into Fairbanks at about lunch time.&nbsp; We drove all over Fairbanks (didn't take long) looking for a place to eat, and finally settled on Wendy's.&nbsp; Walking up to the door, it had a sign proudly announcing this Wendy's was voted best hamburger in Fairbanks....by Zagat!&nbsp; Uh, wow.&nbsp;&nbsp; I ate what I wouldn't consider to be the best hamburger, and certainly not the cheapest either (the value menu has a little less value way up in Fairbanks.)&nbsp; As we were leaving Wendy's, to our dismay, we see the Denny's next door with their sign proclaiming that they were the northern-most Denny's in the world!&nbsp; Dang it!&nbsp; We missed out on eating at the northern-most Denny's!&nbsp; One day we may return to fulfill that dream.&nbsp; &nbsp; After lunch we swung by the grocery store to re-stock on some food supplies and decided to head out of town.&nbsp; On the way out, I made sure we stopped by Hot Licks Ice Cream.&nbsp; They make all their ice cream, and I had heard about them prior to our trip.&nbsp; It was hard to decide what flavor- s'more vs. wild Alaskan blueberry.&nbsp; I went with the blueberry, since I couldn't really get that anywhere else.&nbsp; So good!&nbsp; And they give you a massive amount for your money.&nbsp; The funniest thing about it is when I went to order the girl at the window asked me if I was from Texas.&nbsp; All I could think was "Oh no, do I have an accent?&nbsp; Crap."&nbsp; Turns out she was from Corpus Christi.&nbsp; It's a small world.&nbsp;
]]> Denali National Park- day hiking — Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220795040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220795040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220795040/tpod.html Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:17:09 -0400 Exploring Alaska
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, United States

After the disappointment of not seeing the aurora the night before, I was excited to get into Denali National Park and do some exploring.&nbsp; We started off at the Wilderness Access Center, where we bought our bus tickets for the trip further into the Park the next day (you arr not allowed to drive your personal vehicle into the park.)&nbsp; We then went to the Visitor Center to learn more about the Park.&nbsp; For sure I thought I would get to add another dead stuffed bear to my count, but was disappointed to see that they were environmentally sensitive and only had a fake bear.&nbsp; Fiberglass replicas aren't the real, dead deal so I couldn't count it. Rick and I wanted to get away from the crowds, so we went hiking (most of the cruise ship people don't venture off of the buses.)&nbsp; We decided to go for the gusto,and took the hike to the Mt. Healy overlook.&nbsp; It turned out to be one of the steepest hikes I've ever done, but well worth the effort.&nbsp; The higher we got, the views of the surrounding valleys and mountains got better.&nbsp; At the overlook, we sat down and ate a picnic lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.&nbsp; We had an arctic ground squirrel hang out next to us while we enjoyed our sandwiches.&nbsp; At first we thought he was begging for food, but then we realized he was mad that were were camped out on top of his burrow! We hiked a little further up the mountain, but it was pretty cold and windy up there so we started to make out way back down.&nbsp; Steep trails are always harder than you think on the way down, and our legs were pretty jello-ee by the time we reached the bottom. It was afternoon when we go back tot the base, we still wanted to go see the sleg dog kennels.&nbsp; Against our better judgement, we decided to hike there instead of drive.&nbsp; We had already hiked 6 very steep miles, so what's a few more?&nbsp; We took the Rock Creek trail and headed off for the kennels.&nbsp; The trail wasn't as flat as I thought it would be, and we didn't even see a creek the entire time.&nbsp; Still beautiful, though.&nbsp; 2 miles later we got to the kennels 20 minutes before they closed and we were very tired.&nbsp; The dogs were cute, but we arrived at feeding time so they were preoccupied with dinner.&nbsp; When we left the kennels we still faced another 2 mile hike back to the car. It was a very long 2 miles.&nbsp; We were tired and hurting and starving, and when it was all said and done we had hiked 10 miles.&nbsp; Well, worth it though. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant near our cabin.&nbsp; I had some fabulous salmon and rick and BBQ pork ribs.&nbsp; We definitely earned that dinner!&nbsp; That night I wanted to look for the aurora again, but there were clouds and I was to tired.&nbsp; I fell asleep at 9:30 before it was even really dark.
]]> North to Denali- destination Healy — Healy, Alaska, United States http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220735460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220735460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lilikoi78/8/1220735460/tpod.html Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:43:14 -0400 Exploring Alaska
Healy, Alaska, United States

After lunch in Talkeetna, our beautiful drive continued.&nbsp; We approached the Alaska Range, and stopped at several pullouts to enjoy the scenery.&nbsp; Sunny skies turned cloudy, but the drizzle did not dampen the beautiful fall color.&nbsp; Eventually we arrived in Healy to our cabin.&nbsp; Healy is located 15 minutes north of the entrance to Denali National Park.&nbsp; I'm glad we stayed away from the entrance; that area is crowed and busy.&nbsp; All of the people from the cruise ships load up on buses and they are dumped off at the hotels at the entrance.&nbsp; They all mill around, and wander aimlessly; not my kind of thing (but good for spotting fanny packs.)&nbsp; Our cabin was far away from the crowds, up on a ridge and surrounded by trees.&nbsp; We arrived and unloaded, and not having many choices for dining in Healy, realized that we would have to go back to the entrance area to eat.&nbsp; We ended up eating at The Salmon Bake, which was a bit touristy but the food was better than I expected.&nbsp; Day 2 stats: dead stuffed bears-5, fanny packs- 10 That night we returned to the cabin and I was super excited at the prospect of seeing the Aurora Borealis (the northern lights).&nbsp; Before our trip, I had looked up the forecast for the aurora, and Saturday and Sunday night were forecasted to be high activity nights.&nbsp; Yes!&nbsp; Unfortunately, the aurora doesn't usually appear until 10:00 pm to 2:00 am. &nbsp; The sky was pretty clear, and I was determined to stay up to see it. First of all, the stupid sun doesn't even set until about 9:00,and it doesn't even get completely dark until about 10:45!&nbsp; Then the wind started to blow and it got cold as all get-out.&nbsp; But I kept popping outside, hoping that it would appear.&nbsp; Rick had fallen asleep early on, but I only managed to stay up until 12:00 (3:00 am Texas time) but it never appeared.&nbsp; I kept waking up all night and looking out the window to see if it was happening.&nbsp; No dice.&nbsp; What does a girl have to do to get some charged particles to slam into the Earth's magnetic field and make pretty colors? Damn.&nbsp;
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