Denali, 6-8-09

Today was spent at beautiful Denali Princess Lodge. The indoor photo is the upper level of the main building. The lower level is every bit as beautiful. Aubrey went flyfishing with a guide again, this time for Arctic grayling. Said he had a great time and the fish were biting like crazy.

Hey everybody, Aubrey here. As you know, I'm seldom at a loss for words, but this country is beyond description. When I was first able to see Denali (Mt. McKinley), it was without a doubt the most stunning and unbelievable sight that I have ever seen. I understand why the natives considered it a sacred place. Now, as Jacque said, the fishing was great today. Traveled with a guide and another couple by van about 25 miles to a back country area called "Fish Creek". Appropriately named, huh? Fishing started a little slow, but once I got the hang of it, and about the time we had to leave, it went crazy. I caught around 20 Arctic Grayling and had a great time in some beautiful country. I even forgot to worry about the bears that the guide cautioned us to watch for. Now, back to Jacque. . .

One thing I forgot to mention was that when we arrived at McKinley Lodge yesterday, my new and largest red suitcase had a big "L" tear in it. Thank goodness none of my clothes had fallen out during transit. (I'd hate to leave unmentionables all over Alaska!) Evidently the luggage gorilla had a good day! We had to fix it somehow--and Aubrey was so ingenious. He bought a sewing kit at the gift shop to get a needle. Then he used dental floss as thread and tied individual "sutures" to close the rip. Dr. Steve would have been so proud of his stitches! Then we coated the knots with super glue, borrowed a roll of duct tape from the maintenance department and he taped up the whole mess. It looks every bit as bad as you can imagine--but it has held so far!

There are so many photo ops here on the compound. Last night we went to the Music of Denali Music Theatre. Had the best baby back ribs we've ever eaten and, of course, fresh salmon. The play was about the first expedition to climb Mt. McKinley. Pretty good entertainment. Today there is 20 hrs of sunlight. We had signed up for a whitewater rafting trip this afternoon but it was cancelled due to lack of participants. It's all about the dollar on these trips!

Tomorrow mid-afternoon we board the train for a 5-hour ride to Fairbanks. We spend 3 days/2nights there. So far we have a gold-panning adventure and a steamboat paddlewheel trip upriver. If there's fishing to be done, Aubrey will be ready! He is so hooked on fly-fishing, he spends his spare time "casting" into thin air, much like a golfer "air-golfs".

Love to all.

A&J