20 May 2026

We did not sleep well last night.  I figured with as exhausted as I felt, I would just pass out and sleep hard, but the sun doesn’t set until about 1130pm here, and it doesn’t actually get dark.  We had blackout curtains, but there were some decent gaps so between the light and the seriously uncomfortable pillow, we’re tired.

So I found a nearby coffee shop and we walked over and found some caffeine:

Well, I got coffee, Matt got hot chocolate 🙂 he also got a very tasty cinnamon roll:

Then, it was time to meet the motorcoach that’ll be chauffeuring us around all day.  Our first stop is just a few minutes up the road- Riverboat Discovery.

Riverboat Discovery

I didn’t do any research into the included excursions when we booked this trip, so I have no idea what this will entail.  We started at ye olde giftshop on the bank the Chena River:

and we’ll be spending the next few hours on this paddle steamboat:

making our way up the Chena River to where it meets the Tanana River.  Farewell, shore!

Donuts on our boat!

Down river we go:

I spotted a few critters swimming along the shore, but most dove down before I could snap a picture- this was the best I could do:

A little float plane came and put on a short show for us:

Farewell, little plane!

Something like 1 in 80 Alaskans are licensed pilots (and there’s probably more than a few unlicensed ones)- a lot of Alaska is inaccessible by land, so small planes are quite common.  Having your own float plane dock just seems so convenient:

Mountains in the distance:

Trail Breaker Kennel:

These dogs rarely stayed still- I liked when they hopped on top of their boxes:

PUPPY!

They were so cute!

Then they hitched up a team to an ATV and ran them around the inlet here:

and back:

Then set them free to run in the river:

The confluence:

Young eagle in the tree:

Caribou!

(these guys are captive and part of the replica native village we’ll be visiting)

Replica fishing community:

Salmon scooper:

Demonstrating how fish were filleted before being hung to dry:

Map of the area:

The downside of an organized tour is all the people:

A look at traditional fur clothes:

I found a moose!

Fur cache:

Then, it was back on the boat and back up river:

Unfortunately, it started clouding up and started sprinkling.  Even with all our layers, it was still a bit chilly, so we retreated inside the boat and visited the gift shop (because this is Alaska and gift shops are everywhere):

Farewell for now, mountains!

Back on shore, we had lunch, which was served family-style so we were seated with a ton of other people and taking pictures seemed awkward.  But it was quite tasty and I probably should have eaten more- I got hungry partway through our drive down to Denali.

Mountains are approaching!

I love the trees here- they’re all so tall and skinny:

Getting closer:

This is a terrible picture but WE SAW A MOOSE!!!  Matt’s first wild moose 🙂

We stopped for a short bathroom break at a campground, which had these cool old trucks:

Also, a neat bridge:

Fluffy pussy willow with a bee friend:

The skies clouded up as we approached Denali and it started drizzling:

We’ll be staying in one of these cabins:

This cabin, to be precise:

Matt’s standing next to our open door- they were still cleaning our room when we arrived, so we kinda just loitered awkwardly until they were done.

Living room:

Bathroom:

Bedroom:

Cozy, but unfortunately wifi doesn’t reach out here- it’s nice and strong up at the lodge but in today’s day and age (and for the prices they’re charging), they should really invest in some wifi extenders or boosters or something.  It might be a long couple days for Matt 🙂

And for some reason, our building was set in front of the other buildings- there’s a river running behind those trees, but our view is mostly just of other buildings.  Lame.

But there is a nice trail running along the river:

and it’s still only a few steps away from our building

We’re at the beginning of the season, so shops and restaurants are still opening- we opted to just eat at the restaurant on campus, which was a short walk from our room.  We found this really good root beer from a local (Anchorage) brewing company:

For dinner, we shared some mac’n’cheese (yum!) and a charcuterie board, which included reindeer sausage- something we thought we should try out.

It definitely needed more seasoning- it tasted like a barn.

Not a fan.

And between that and the pickled veggies and the very sweet lemonade and the cheesy noodles, my stomach revolted and it was a very uncomfortable night.

So after my guts were empty, I passed out and hoped to feel better in the morning.  Not the best start to our trip 🙁